CellWalk vs EarthLayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 3D cell exploration
- On-device AI definitions
- Multi-level explanations
- Interactive concept chains
- Touch-first navigation
- High-fidelity visuals
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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
EarthLayer
Discover Earth's biodiversity with this app, featuring interactive maps of wildlife and plant life. Explore species, learn about their habitats and conservation status, and read engaging nature stories.
- Interactive biodiversity maps
- Species and plant profiles
- Habitat and ecosystem exploration
- Conservation status information
- Nature stories and articles
- Search by common or scientific name
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Explore life on Earth with EarthLayer, a biodiversity discovery app that brings wildlife, plants, interactive maps, and nature stories together in one connected experience. EarthLayer includes two complete exploration experiences: SpeciesMap and PlantsMap. Move between them from the EarthLayer home screen and discover the natural world from different perspectives. SpeciesMap helps you explore animal life from around the globe. Search species by common or scientific name, open detailed profiles, examine real-world observations, and discover how wildlife is distributed across countries, regions, habitats, and ecosystems. PlantsMap opens the door to Earth’s botanical diversity. Explore plant species ranging from towering trees and flowering plants to ancient ferns, grasses, and mosses. Search for plants, learn about their classifications and conservation context, and discover the ecosystems they help support. Interactive views turn biodiversity data into a visual experience. Explore wildlife sightings, biodiversity patterns, conservation status, ecosystems, and hotspots to better understand where life is found, where it is most diverse, and where species may be facing greater pressure. EarthLayer also goes beyond maps and data with thoughtfully presented articles about wildlife, plants, conservation, ecosystems, and scientific discovery. These stories provide context for the species and landscapes you encounter throughout the app. Designed for nature enthusiasts, students, educators, photographers, researchers, travellers, and anyone curious about our planet, EarthLayer offers an accessible way to explore the connections between species, plants, habitats, and the places they call home. EarthLayer uses biodiversity and observation data from established open-data sources. The availability of species records, images, locations, conservation information, and other details may vary by region and source.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: EarthLayer at none against CellWalk's 3. EarthLayer also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 92%). CellWalk's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (71 vs 5). On price and ads 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. CellWalk sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. EarthLayer asks for nothing beyond the download.
CellWalk holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CellWalk has 71 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 92% of CellWalk's written reviews are positive against 100% of EarthLayer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
CellWalk ships an update every 3 weeks, EarthLayer weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CellWalk | EarthLayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (71 ratings) — better | 4.6 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 71 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 27.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 552 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ako Biotica Inc. | Kyra Web Inc. |
Customer experience
CellWalk
EarthLayer
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
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- 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
EarthLayer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
CellWalk
- CellWalk Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- CellWalk Pro Annual$79.991 Year
- Pro Lessons$29.99
EarthLayer
No in-app purchases








