Operation Outbreak vs Infrared Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Operation Outbreak
Engage in a virtual pathogen outbreak simulation using Bluetooth. Learn about disease spread and prevention through interactive gameplay, quizzes, and teamwork. Requires a code from an organizer to participate.
- Bluetooth-enabled outbreak simulation
- Learn disease prevention strategies
- Interactive quizzes on biology and public health
- Team-based gameplay
- Simulate pathogen spread
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The Operation Outbreak (OO) app uses Bluetooth to simulate the spread of a "virtual pathogen" through phones. Play an outbreak simulation with this app to learn how to stop the spread of disease by adopting preventive measures such as social distancing and mask wearing, answering quizzes about biology and public health, and working together as a team with the rest of the outbreak participants. You will need a code from a simulation organizer in order to play.
Infrared Explorer
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Infrared Explorer turns a phone with a FLIR ONE thermal camera into a science instrument for the classroom, the lab and the field. SEE HEAT Point the camera at anything and watch temperature become color, live. Switch palettes, lock or free the temperature range, and read the value under the crosshair. RECORD AND ANALYZE Capture thermal clips that keep the temperature of every pixel, then play them back with thermometers and analysis tools. Compare a kettle coming to the boil, a running motor, or the wall of your school on a cold morning. TIME-LAPSE Leave the camera watching for up to 24 hours: one thermal frame every few seconds or minutes, played back as a film. With a wired FLIR ONE, the recording carries on with the phone locked, and a Live Activity on the lock screen shows its progress. LEARN WITH REAL DATA Lessons and a Showcase of experiments from other classrooms give you something to try today. A Video Store of sample recordings works without any camera attached. MAP THE INVISIBLE Infrared Street View captures panoramas with their temperatures, geotags them and shares them on a map with other explorers. GO FURTHER Sign in to upload recordings to the cloud, join a class, and have an AI model draft a lab report from your own data. Requires a FLIR ONE thermal camera: FLIR ONE Gen 3, Pro or Pro LT with the connector that matches your iPhone, or a FLIR ONE Edge / Edge Pro over Wi-Fi. Without a camera, the sample recordings and the built-in simulator let you explore every feature. Infrared Explorer is made by the Institute for Future Intelligence, a nonprofit. It is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Infrared Explorer at daily against Operation Outbreak's monthly. Operation Outbreak's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Operation Outbreak ships an update monthly, Infrared Explorer daily. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Operation Outbreak | Infrared Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (159 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 159 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 141 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | THE BROAD INSTITUTE INC | Institute for Future Intelligence |
In-app purchases
Operation Outbreak
No in-app purchases
Infrared Explorer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Operation Outbreak free?
Is Infrared Explorer free?
Do Operation Outbreak or Infrared Explorer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Operation Outbreak or Infrared Explorer?
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