Comparison

CellWalk vs Bio

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

Head to head
About

CellWalk

Explore the intricate world of cells in a 3D environment, from the overall structure down to molecular details. Tap on terms to receive clear, contextual explanations powered by on-device AI, adapting to your learning level. Designed for students and educators to foster a deeper understanding of cell biology.

Highlights
  • 3D cell exploration
  • On-device AI definitions
  • Multi-level explanations
  • Interactive concept chains
  • Touch-first navigation
  • High-fidelity visuals
Read full description

CellWalk puts a living cell in your hands and on your desk. Zoom from a whole cell down to the atoms in DNA. Explore a cell modeled protein by protein from real structures discovered by scientists. Start your journey with Ako, an AI tutor that helps you understand what you see. Built for students, teachers and anyone curious about how life works at the molecular scale. 2025 Apple Design Award finalist. EXPLORE A REAL CELL Zoom from a whole Mycoplasma cell down to single atoms. Thousands of proteins, DNA and RNA, ribosomes and membranes, rendered from published scientific data. Tap any molecule to learn what it is and what it does. Tap any term for an explanation at your level, written on your device with Apple Intelligence. Place molecular scenes in your space with augmented reality on compatible iPhone and iPad devices. LEARN WITH AKO Ako helps you build understanding through questions. It brings molecular structures into view, invites you to look closer and explain what you notice, then builds on your answers to help you make connections. Socratic learning, one discovery at a time. Type or dictate. Ask anything about what’s on screen or in your space. Your Ako lessons, your progress in them and what Ako has learned about you stay with you: on your device and, if you use iCloud, in your own iCloud. Get more of Ako with CellWalk Pro. GUIDED TOURS Start your journey with The Molecular Design of Life, a complete tour of the Mycoplasma cell made with Dr. David Goodsell. Each tour includes a guided narration, free explore mode and Ako practice lessons to test your understanding. CellWalk Pro adds more guided tours and lessons with an expanded library of cells and organisms. Explore the incredible molecular machines that power neurons and thought, or dive into the architecture of a virus like HIV. LEARN BY DOING Step into the Central Dogma of Biology with a hands-on interactive lesson on the all new Learning Path. Learn how the instructions in DNA are read and translated into the proteins that build and sustain your cells. WHAT’S FREE Explore The Molecular Design of Life tour and its accompanying Ako lesson and explore modes, and try the “What is a Protein?” interactive lesson on the Learning Path. You can also ask Ako in-depth questions with a free daily allowance. CELLWALK PRO Unlock all other guided tours and their accompanying Ako lessons, a larger daily question allowance and longer answers from Ako. Choose a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription. One subscription covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. ASK FROM ANYWHERE Say “Ask CellWalk a biology question” and Siri answers from CellWalk’s own content without opening the app. “Continue my lesson in CellWalk” picks up where you left off. On iPhone and iPad, use Visual Intelligence on a textbook diagram, choose Search CellWalk with an Image, and tap a match to open that tour, lesson or molecule. HOW THE AI WORKS Ako is built with the Foundation Models framework. Where Apple Intelligence is available, it answers on Private Cloud Compute, and the on-device model explains the terms you tap. OpenAI, a third-party AI service, plans lessons and answers when Apple Intelligence isn’t available on your device or in your region. The app asks your permission before sending your first question. You can change that permission under Account → Privacy. CellWalk doesn’t require a separate CellWalk account, and AI requests aren’t tied to your name. Find details under Account → Privacy → About CellWalk & AI. Apple Intelligence features require iPhone 15 Pro or later, an iPad with M1 or A17 Pro or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://cellwalk.ca/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://cellwalk.ca/privacy

About

Bio

Features
Read full description

Bio-Scry turns your iPhone into a complete, offline genomics and molecular-biology workstation. Everything runs on the device — your sequences never leave your phone, and you don't need an internet connection, an account, or a server. ASSEMBLE A GENOME, ON DEVICE • Long-read, short-read, and hybrid de-novo assembly • Reference-guided consensus and variant calling with amino-acid effects • Scaffold your contigs against a reference genome • A one-tap "Try a sample" that assembles a bundled E. coli genome so you can see it work immediately A NOVEL ON-DEVICE ASSEMBLER Bio-Scry includes a first-of-its-kind neural-field assembler: instead of a classic graph, it fits the genome as the weights of a coordinate→base neural network, GPU-accelerated entirely on your device, and emits contigs plus a repeat graph. It's a genuinely new method — and it runs in your pocket. A FULL SEQUENCE BENCH • Annotation and gene finding • ORF finder, translation, GC/codon analysis • Multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic trees, BLAST-style search • Restriction mapping, digests, and cloning design (Gibson, Golden Gate) • Primer design, CRISPR guide design, protein-domain and structure views • An IGV-style genome browser with GC, gene, variant, and sequence tracks COMPARATIVE & CLINICAL TOOLS (Bio-Scry Pro) • Species identification and average-nucleotide-identity comparison • Antimicrobial-resistance and virulence screening, sequence typing, plasmid typing • Pangenome, selection (dN/dS), and outbreak-clustering analysis • Batch processing and publication-grade reports with methods, citations, and the exact reference-database versions used RESEARCH-GRADE REFERENCE DATA Bundled, versioned reference databases (public-domain and openly-licensed) power the typing and comparison tools, and every result records exactly which database version produced it. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No tracking. No analytics. All analysis is performed locally; your reads and results stay on your device. Bio-Scry is provided for research and educational use only. It is not a certified diagnostic device and must not be used as the sole basis for clinical or treatment decisions. Only supports bacterial genomes. Terms of use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

CellWalk4 screens
Bio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: CellWalk at 4 against Bio's 1. Bio's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 27.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. CellWalk sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Bio sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
CellWalk versus Bio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCellWalkBio
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (72 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews91.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings72 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone
Requires iOS27.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size554 MB817 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAko Biotica Inc.Alex Sheridan

Bugs and requests

CellWalk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • ATP synthase described backwards
  • Renderer noise causes nausea
  • Buggy and low framerate
  • Renderer not responsive to head movements

Requested features

10 requests
  • More cells to explore (eukaryotic, mammalian, computer cells)
  • More content and depth
  • Expand on descriptions with an 'expand on' feature
  • Add tutorials for new users
  • Add color to highlighted text for easy reference
Show 5 more
  • Depict a minimal eukaryotic cell
  • Depict a cell undergoing mitosis
  • Make cell models free-floating instead of behind windows
  • Option to purchase additional content
  • Update renderer for responsiveness to head movements

Bio

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

CellWalk

Subscriptions2
  • CellWalk Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • CellWalk Pro Annual$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lessons$29.99
2 purchases

Bio

Subscriptions2
  • Bio-Scry Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Bio-Scry Pro (Yearly)$39.991 Year

Questions

Is CellWalk free?
CellWalk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bio free?
Bio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CellWalk or Bio have ads?
Neither CellWalk nor Bio shows ads.

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