CellWalk vs Atoms
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CellWalk
Explore a living cell in 3D, from whole organisms down to atoms. An AI tutor guides your learning with interactive lessons and detailed explanations of molecular structures. Features augmented reality for an immersive educational experience.
- 3D cell exploration
- Molecular-level detail
- AI-powered tutor (Ako)
- Augmented reality visualization
- Interactive learning paths
- Guided tours
- Siri integration
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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
Atoms
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Atoms-World turns real chemistry into three games. Every frame is computed live on your iPhone or iPad by SO3LR, a machine-learned force field from current research. What you see is real physics, not animation. FIX THE MOLECULE A real molecule has been sabotaged: one to three intruder atoms were bonded into it. Compare it with its name and formula, then pull the intruders out with your finger while the force field relaxes everything around them. Fix it and learn what the molecule is and what it is used for. BINDING DIMER DUEL Two players, one device. Dock a small molecule onto a bigger one, find the pose where they attract most, lock it in, and let the pair relax. The stronger binding energy wins. SOUNDS OF NATURE Every molecule vibrates in its own set of ways, its normal modes, the same ones infrared spectroscopy measures. Play music in any app or on a speaker nearby and watch the molecule dance to it: the sound the microphone hears drives its vibrations. You can also paste a YouTube link. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT • Real physics: energies, forces, and vibrational spectra are computed on your device • 490 molecules in 37 families, from water and caffeine to amino acids, sugars and 115 medicines, each with a short note on what it does • Works offline • No account, no ads, no tracking, no data collected • English, French, German and Spanish • Made for curious students, teachers, and anyone who likes molecules Atoms-World is an educational tool. Its results come from an approximate model and are not meant for laboratory, medical, or safety decisions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Atoms at none against CellWalk's 3. Atoms also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 27.0). CellWalk's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). 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. Atoms asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | CellWalk | Atoms |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (73 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 91.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 73 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 27.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 555 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Ako Biotica Inc. | Igor Poltavskyi |
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
Atoms
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$39.99
Atoms
No in-app purchases








