Gravitational Wave Events vs The Einstein Archive
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.
The Einstein Archive
Explore the life and scientific contributions of Albert Einstein through an interactive timeline, detailed maps, and high-resolution images of his work. This app offers a comprehensive, offline experience without requiring an account or internet connection.
- Interactive timeline of life and discoveries
- Local search functionality
- Map view of significant locations
- Deep zoom image viewer
- Save favorite content
- Offline and private operation
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Albert Einstein by Airgapp is a self-contained journey through the life and mind of the physicist who revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and energy. Everything lives inside the app. Open it anywhere without an account or connection, and it works exactly the same. Explore Einstein's life from his birth in 1879 in Württemberg through his patent office years in Zurich, his rise to prominence with relativity, his immigration to America, his role in the atomic age, and his final years at Princeton. Discover the breakthroughs that changed science: special relativity, general relativity, the photoelectric effect, and the equation that became synonymous with his name. Features: Interactive timeline of Einstein's life and discoveries. Local search across the entire collection. Map view connecting Einstein to the places that shaped him. Deep zoom image viewer for letters, equations, and photographs. Favorites to save what matters to you. Completely offline and private. Your data never leaves your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Gravitational Wave Events at 133 against The Einstein Archive's 1. Gravitational Wave Events also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). The Einstein Archive'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.
The Einstein Archive 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.
| Parameter | Gravitational Wave Events | The Einstein Archive |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Peter Kramer | Felicity Enterprises LLC |
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
The Einstein Archive
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Gravitational Wave Events
No in-app purchases
The Einstein Archive
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Gravitational Wave Events free?
Is The Einstein Archive free?
Which has better reviews, Gravitational Wave Events or The Einstein Archive?
Do Gravitational Wave Events or The Einstein Archive have ads?
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