Comparison

Luminight vs Mad Scientist Controls

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Luminight

Explore a magical world of larger-than-life lantern sculptures and augmented reality animals. Discover extinct, endangered, and zodiac creatures, and learn about them through audio narration. Capture and share photos of your AR encounters.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality animal encounters
  • Lantern sculpture safari
  • Educational audio narration
  • Photo and selfie mode
  • Forest of a Million Lights
  • Dinosaurs and zodiac animals
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the wonderful world of LumiNight: a walking safari through scenes from our magical planet revealed by larger-than-life lantern sculptures created by Chinese artisans. A unique celebration of our planet’s most treasured wonders, wildlife, and nature that includes a Forest of a Million Lights, dinosaurs, Chinese Zodiac animals, the Great Barrier Reef, the story of Noah’s Ark, and animals both extinct and endangered through the magic of Augmented Reality. With beautifully animated coral reef fish and other animals to meet & ability to capturing them in your photos and share, the visit to LumiNight Lantern Festival is DOUBLE fun. REAL ANIMALS! All animals featured in LumiNight AR app are based on real individual animals. They are modeled and animated in 3D... to bring them closer into your world! FUN PHOTOS & SELFIE MODE Back- and front-facing camera support means you can snap your favorite animal in your own environment… or grab hilarious selfies using the selfie mode in the app. Post photos with the hashtag #LumiNightFestival to unlock giveaways. AUGMENTED REALITY MADE INCREDIBLY EASY! Just point the camera at the animal at the festival and it will come virtually live into your world. GET CLOSER & GET INVOLVED WITH AUDIO! Learn more about each individual animal we feature at the LumiNight Lantern Festival with Audio narration. THE ANIMALS Visit LumiNight Lantern Festival and meet the Endangered Species – (Bengal Tiger, Amur leopard, Red Panda, Gorilla, Orangutan, Blue Whale, Narwhal, Vaquita, Dugong (Matalee), Polar Bear, White shark, etc.), Extinct Animals (Mammoth, Sabre-Toothed Cat, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus), Coral Reef Fish (Clownfish, Siganus Vulpinus, Ballina Angelfish, Chaetodon Baronessa, Yellowbar Angelfish, Guppy, Coral reef fish, Fur Seal, jellyfish, lobster, turtle, sea horse, Paguridae), and MORE.

About

Mad Scientist Controls

Control your JAWS Rover robot via Bluetooth for exciting adventures. Explore and maneuver your robot with an easy-to-use interface. Requires the JAWS Rover device.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth connectivity
  • Robot control
  • Exploration
  • Maneuvering
  • Easy-to-use interface
Features
Read full description

Take control of your JAWS Rover! This app lets you connect to your robot via Bluetooth and guide it on exciting adventures. Explore, maneuver, and have fun with this easy-to-use interface. This app requires the JAWS Rover device built with the Mad Scientist Labs (Session at CodeMash 2025)

Screenshots

Luminight4 screens
Mad Scientist Controls4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mad Scientist Controls at 5.0 against Luminight's 1.0. Mad Scientist Controls also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mad Scientist Controls holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Luminight ships an update every 3 weeks, Mad Scientist Controls every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and June 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Luminight versus Mad Scientist Controls: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuminightMad Scientist Controls
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size218 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVenkata ReddyGregory Shayko

Customer experience

Luminight

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Mad Scientist Controls

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Luminight

No in-app purchases

None

Mad Scientist Controls

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Luminight free?
Luminight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mad Scientist Controls free?
Mad Scientist Controls is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Luminight or Mad Scientist Controls?
Mad Scientist Controls is rated higher. Luminight averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Mad Scientist Controls averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Luminight or Mad Scientist Controls have ads?
Neither Luminight nor Mad Scientist Controls shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Luminight or Mad Scientist Controls?
Luminight ships an update every 3 weeks, and Mad Scientist Controls every 5 days. Most recently, Luminight was updated on June 4, 2026 and Mad Scientist Controls on June 5, 2026.

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