Comparison

Hearsee Mobility vs Fathom

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

Head to head
About

Hearsee Mobility

This app works with a specialized cane to provide indoor navigation for the visually impaired. Users can download indoor maps and receive signals from RFID tags to guide them through complex environments.

Highlights
  • Indoor map downloads
  • RFID tag signal reception
  • Navigation assistance for the blind
  • Pairing with Hearsee Ridgid Cane
  • User-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

The Hearsee app is the indoor navigation software that go hand-in-hand with the Hearsee Ridgid Cane. Hearsee canes are designed to receive signals from RFID tags embedded along walkways and communicate that signal to the blind. Pairing it with the app allows the user to download indoor maps and navigate through them.

About

Fathom

This navigation app provides real-time spatial awareness for blind and low-vision users indoors. It speaks only when necessary, indicating doors, people, and hazards, and offers features for room exploration, object identification, and guided navigation to specific locations.

Highlights
  • Indoor spatial awareness
  • Object and hazard detection
  • Turn-by-turn indoor navigation
  • Step-by-step task guidance
  • Real-time conversational assistance
Features
Read full description

Visual assistance you can talk to. Ask fathom what's in front of you, what a letter says, or where you left your keys. It remembers what you tell it, and you decide what it keeps. Most of the day asks you to look. The label on the can. The dial on the washer. The sign on the door. The kiosk that's only a screen. So you ask someone, or guess, or wait. Or you ask fathom. I'm a legally blind product designer. I built the tool I kept wishing I had, instead of waiting for a sighted team to guess what I needed. Just ask One screen. Speak, type, or pick a suggestion, and fathom does it right there. The mic is always in the same place, and Magic Tap opens it. Look Now Six ways to look: describe the whole scene, read text word for word, identify what you're holding, read a kiosk or appliance screen, name what you're pointing at, or take a closer look. Read at your pace A long letter becomes a document you move through. Go back, skip ahead, repeat a part, or pause. With VoiceOver, it's real text, with headings on the rotor. Lookout and Point to Ask Lookout keeps describing what's around you while you walk. You choose how much it says: Hazards Only, Balanced, or Full Awareness. Point at anything for about a second, and fathom tells you what it is. Memory Tell fathom where things are, then ask later. It says back what it saved. Everything it keeps is in Settings, where you can correct it or delete it. Obstacle alerts are always on, and always free When fathom notices a hazard, it buzzes first. Obstacle alerts run on your phone in Lookout, Go, and tasks, with Cloud AI on or off. They keep working when this month's Cloud AI allowance runs out. fathom plus Go guides you to places you've named, like the laundry room, from what the camera sees. When it thinks you're there, it asks. Step-by-step plans: tell fathom the whole job. It reads you the steps before anything starts. Accept the plan, change it, or dismiss it. Task coaches you through one hands-on job in front of the camera. Turn on Live mode and it becomes a conversation while you work. Skills: teach fathom a job once, then run it by name, from the app or from Siri. fathom plus is a monthly subscription. New subscribers get the first week free. Cloud or on-device, your choice With Cloud AI, fathom sends camera pictures, the text of what you say, and what it remembers about you to Google's Gemini AI. In Live mode, your voice is sent too, while the microphone is on. fathom asks before anything goes to Google. With On-device AI, nothing is sent to Google, and obstacle alerts and reading text work on every iPhone. Built for VoiceOver Built for VoiceOver from the first screen. Eight Siri shortcuts, and the Action Button can open Look Now. Light, dark, and Contrast Boost. fathom answers in your iPhone's language when it can; buttons and alerts are in English. No account. Every setup question is optional. fathom uses AI, and it can make mistakes. Keep your cane or your dog. Privacy Policy: https://fathomvision.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Made by Unruly Vision, LLC.

Screenshots

Hearsee Mobility4 screens
Fathom4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hearsee Mobility at none against Fathom's 1. Fathom's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and device support 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. Fathom sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $12.99 per month. Hearsee Mobility asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hearsee Mobility against 5.0 for Fathom. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fathom has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hearsee Mobility ships an update every 6 weeks, Fathom every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hearsee Mobility versus Fathom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHearsee MobilityFathom
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.2 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHearseeUnruly Vision, LLC

Customer experience

Hearsee Mobility

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Fathom

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Hearsee Mobility

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Fathom

Subscriptions1
  • Fathom Plus7 Days trial$12.991 Month

Questions

Is Hearsee Mobility free?
Hearsee Mobility is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fathom free?
Fathom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hearsee Mobility or Fathom?
Hearsee Mobility and Fathom are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Hearsee Mobility or Fathom have ads?
Neither Hearsee Mobility nor Fathom shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hearsee Mobility or Fathom?
Hearsee Mobility ships an update every 6 weeks, and Fathom every 3 weeks. Most recently, Hearsee Mobility was updated on November 3, 2026 and Fathom on October 31, 2026.

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