CloudLabs Spherical mirrors vs KORAKU
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
CloudLabs Spherical mirrors
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This simulation recreates an optical table with a concave and a convex mirror, the goal is to find the focal length, the radius of the curvature and determine if the image is inverted or not. In the development of the practice, each of the mirrors can be placed on the optical table and two objects can be used to observe both the image that is formed, as well as its size, as the distance between the object and the mirror is varied.
KORAKU
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KORAKU is an interactive educational app that visualizes how light behaves in real time. Bend rays with lenses and mirrors, overlap light as a wave, and explore color and photons to connect the equations with what you see. Developer: Fuji Bit Inc. KORAKU is the optics edition of the "-raku" physics simulation series. It turns the optics of school and university physics into moving pictures, not just formulas. 12 simulations in 3 categories: - Rays & Images - Lens: Trace rays through convex and concave lenses. Change the focal length, object distance and height to see the image switch between real and virtual, inverted and upright. Explore 1/f = 1/a + 1/b. - Mirror: Switch between concave and convex mirrors. Move the radius R and object distance a to see how the image changes around the focal point F and center of curvature C, and why a virtual image appears behind the mirror. - Eye & Glasses (new): See the cornea and lens focus an image on the retina. Choose a normal, nearsighted or farsighted eye and change the viewing distance, glasses power (diopters) and accommodation to see where the image forms and how blurry it looks. One tap sets matching glasses. - Prism: Watch white light split into a spectrum. Change the apex angle, angle of incidence and refractive index to see dispersion bend each color differently, with the deviation and minimum deviation. - Optical fiber: See light travel by total internal reflection. Change the launch angle and refractive indices to explore the critical angle, numerical aperture (NA) and when light leaks into the cladding. - Light as a Wave - Diffraction grating: Change the number of slits, spacing and wavelength to find the bright lines at d sin(theta) = m lambda, and watch them sharpen as slits are added. - Thin film: Recreate the colors of soap bubbles and oil films. Change the thickness, refractive index and angle to shift the bright and dark wavelengths. - Polarization: Rotate a polarizer and an analyzer to see Malus's law, I = I0 cos^2(theta): brightest at 0 and 180 degrees, blocked at 90. - Color & the Nature of Light - Color mixing: Compare additive mixing of light (RGB) with subtractive mixing of paint (CMY) using three sliders. - Rainbow: Follow sunlight as it refracts into a raindrop, reflects inside and refracts out. See why the primary bow appears about 42 degrees from the antisolar point, the secondary about 51 degrees, with the colors reversed. - Blue Sky & Sunset (new): See sunlight scattered in the atmosphere. Switch between Rayleigh scattering (proportional to 1/lambda^4) and Mie scattering (cloud droplets, haze), and change the sun altitude and air density. As the air mass grows, the sky and sun turn from daytime blue to sunset colors. - Photoelectric effect: Shine light on a metal and watch electrons fly out. Change the frequency, intensity and work function to explore E = hf, Kmax = hf - W and the threshold frequency f0, with the visible and UV bands marked. Features: - Clean, modern design (dark and light themes) - Home screen organized by category - Tips and a play button in the control panel - Parameter sliders with results that update in real time - Legends and labels for every symbol and colored ray on screen - An explanation sheet with formulas for every simulation - In landscape, the canvas and control panel are shown side by side - Supports larger text sizes - VoiceOver reads out each screen's result (real or virtual image, total internal reflection, and more) - 73 languages including English and Japanese, following your device language - No sign-in: start exploring right away Price: - Free - In-app purchases: none - Subscriptions: none - Ads: a banner ad by Pangle at the bottom of the screen The "-raku" educational app series: - SUUGAKU - Mathematics - BUTURAKU - Mechanics - DENRAKU - Electromagnetism - HARAKU - Waves - KORAKU - Optics
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: CloudLabs Spherical mirrors at none against KORAKU's shown. CloudLabs Spherical mirrors also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). KORAKU's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 21 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CloudLabs Spherical mirrors ships an update every 21 months, KORAKU every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CloudLabs Spherical mirrors | KORAKU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 21 months | Every 10 days โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 โ better | 15.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jiovany Orozco | Fuji Bit Inc. |
In-app purchases
CloudLabs Spherical mirrors
No in-app purchases
KORAKU
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CloudLabs Spherical mirrors free?
Is KORAKU free?
Do CloudLabs Spherical mirrors or KORAKU have ads?
Which is updated more often, CloudLabs Spherical mirrors or KORAKU?
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