Gravitational Wave Events vs Make Chirps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gravitational Wave Events
Stay updated on gravitational wave events with real-time alerts from the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA Collaboration. Explore event locations on an interactive sky map and access educational resources about gravitational waves and observatories.
- Real-time GCN/LVK alerts
- Interactive sky map
- Event database (O1, O2, O3)
- GCN Circulars
- Public message board
- Educational links
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Receive alerts of Gravitational Wave Events from the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA Collaboration (LVK) on your iPhone. This is an app for both the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA Community and the general public. It provides low latency alerts using the Open Public Alerts currently being deployed by the Gamma-ray Coordinates Network (GCN) through GCN/LVK Notices (https://emfollow.docs.ligo.org/userguide/). To receive alerts using the app just select the category of alerts you wish to receive - it's that simple! The O4 observing run ended in November 2025. Intermediate Run 1 (IR1) is expected to start in late September, 2026. The app will download all IR1 events and counterparts as they are reported through a GCN Notice in addition to any related GCN Circulars. The app database is pre-populated with selected Notices and Circulars from all previous O1, O2, O3 and O4 events. The app retains Notices for one Mock Event reported through GCN for testing purposes. (For information on LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA Collaboration GCN Notices see: https://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/lvc.html .) Includes an interactive sky map showing the location of each event. The app also has a public Message exchange bulletin board and some interesting Links. The Links provide information on Gravitational Waves and the LIGO and Virgo observatories.
Make Chirps
Explore the physics of gravitational waves through interactive simulations and visualizations. Understand black hole mergers and their impact on spacetime with dynamic animations and auditory experiences. Learn about LIGO's pioneering work through educational insights.
- Physics simulation of black hole mergers
- Waveform plots and spectrogram visualizations
- Auditory experience of gravitational waves
- Dynamic animations of black hole collisions
- Educational insights on LIGO and cosmic phenomena
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This educational app displays gravitational wave chirps created by mergers of massive black holes in several different ways, giving users an intuitive understanding of these exotic disturbances of space-time itself produced by cataclysmic events in distant galaxies. FEATURES: • Simulation: Experience the intricate behavior of gravitational waves through physics simulation of inspiralling black holes that merge to form a final black hole which then “shakes off” its excess energy. • Visualizations: See the essence of gravitational waves via waveform plots, frequency evolutions, and spectrograms, to understand the patterns and how they depend on black hole masses. • Auditory Experience: Listen closely as you hear the evolution of gravitational waves, detecting the characteristic increase in time in strength and frequency. Try varying masses to see how pitch is affected. • Dynamic Animations: Witness the captivating dance of black holes in collision animations. Explore the propagation of these waves through space-time with mesmerizing spiral animations. • Educational Insights: Gain a comprehensive understanding of gravitational waves and the pioneering work of LIGO through informative text pages, enhancing your knowledge of these cosmic phenomena. COMPATIBILITY Compatible with iPhone and iPad, iOS 16 or later. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Supported by the National Science Foundation with grant PHY-2110181.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Gravitational Wave Events at 133 against Make Chirps's 1. Gravitational Wave Events also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Make Chirps's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Make Chirps holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gravitational Wave Events has 133 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Gravitational Wave Events ships an update monthly, Make Chirps every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gravitational Wave Events | Make Chirps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (133 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 133 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Peter Kramer | John Keith Riles |
Bugs and requests
Gravitational Wave Events
Reported bugs
1 issue- Crashes on startup (iOS 14.7.1)
Requested features
13 requests- Searchable database (e.g., Vera Rubin circulars)
- More explanation of jargon and graphs
- Ability to download notification sound
- Indication of masses of involved objects
- Playback of real sound and frequency wave
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- Link to everyday language explanations of events
- UI/screen scaling/link info tweaks
- Delete/hide event by swiping
- Mark different events by colors
- Personalized filter for specific event types (e.g., BNS only)
- Add delete function to each event
- Link user event comments to related events
- Improved navigation and visual design
Make Chirps
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Gravitational Wave Events
No in-app purchases
Make Chirps
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Gravitational Wave Events free?
Is Make Chirps free?
Which has better reviews, Gravitational Wave Events or Make Chirps?
Do Gravitational Wave Events or Make Chirps have ads?
Which is updated more often, Gravitational Wave Events or Make Chirps?
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