Earth 3D vs iSurf BrainView
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Earth 3D
Explore a highly realistic 3D model of Earth, complete with dynamic clouds, storms, and atmospheric effects. Observe celestial bodies like the Moon and Sun against the backdrop of the Milky Way. This app offers a relaxing way to de-stress and appreciate the beauty of our planet.
- Realistic Earth with relief and clouds
- Dynamic storm and shadow effects
- Moon and Sun observation
- Milky Way background
- Interactive rotation and zoom
- Multiple camera views
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Enjoy our living Earth, with the Moon and the Sun drifting against the backdrop of the Milky Way. A truly relaxing way to slow down and find calm in a stressful moment. A strikingly realistic Earth : - Terrain relief, clouds with relief, shadows and altitude - Night side glowing with city lights, softly diffused through the clouds - Storm cells animating in the clouds on the night side - Sun reflections on the oceans, eclipses and sun masking - Atmospheric scattering around the globe - A detailed Moon with relief, eclipses, and its shadow cast on Earth - All of it set against the Milky Way and the real night sky - A perfect way to reconnect with the quiet beauty of our world. Tailored to your device: the level of detail and visual effects automatically scale to your device — the more powerful it is, the richer and sharper the experience. Controls : - Drag with one finger to rotate around the Earth; pinch with two fingers to zoom. - Switch camera modes with the top-right buttons: free, orbital, or geostationary. - Pause the animation with the top-left button — then breathe in, and breathe out. - Hold the bottom-right button to speed up time. Take care of yourself, your family and friends — and of our Mother Earth !
iSurf BrainView
Explore a real brain MRI slice by slice, with anatomical overlays and interactive identification. Test your knowledge with quizzes and rotate a 3D cortical surface. Works offline with no ads or tracking.
- Slice-by-slice MRI exploration
- Anatomical segmentation overlays
- Interactive structure identification
- Searchable structure list
- Anatomy quiz mode
- 3D cortical surface viewer
- Offline functionality
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BrainView is an educational MRI viewer built around a real brain scan, segmented with FreeSurfer. Explore it slice by slice, learn the anatomy, and test yourself. Three viewing planes. Scroll through axial, coronal, and sagittal slices with a simple slider, all the way through the volume. Two anatomical overlays. Turn on the subcortical segmentation to see structures like the hippocampus, thalamus, and ventricles, or switch to the Destrieux cortical parcellation to see the folding pattern of the cerebral cortex broken into named gyri and sulci. Tap to identify. Tap anywhere on the scan to name the structure under your finger, with a link to learn more on Wikipedia. Browse every structure. A searchable, alphabetical list of every subcortical structure jumps straight to it. Quiz yourself. Ten random questions per round: a structure is highlighted, you pick its name from three choices, and your score is tracked as you go. Rotate a 3D cortical surface. Drag to orbit, pinch to zoom, and tap a region to name it -- the left hemisphere, colored by the Desikan-Killiany atlas (developed by Rahul Desikan and Ron Killiany; the app's About screen honors Dr. Desikan's memory), with six standard views and a searchable region list. Tap a spot on the surface and jump straight to that point in the slice viewer. Pinch to zoom, double-tap to jump in, and everything works offline -- the scan and every label are bundled with the app. No account, no ads, no tracking, no network access except the optional "Learn more" links. For educational use only. BrainView is not a medical device and is not intended for diagnosis.
Screenshots
Verdict
Earth 3D and iSurf BrainView both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of iSurf BrainView's written reviews are positive against 33% of Earth 3D's. iSurf BrainView also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 13 months). Earth 3D's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Earth 3D against 4.1 for iSurf BrainView. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 25 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of Earth 3D's written reviews are positive against 81% of iSurf BrainView's.
Earth 3D ships an update every 13 months, iSurf BrainView every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Earth 3D | iSurf BrainView |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (19 ratings) — better | 4.1 (25 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.0% of reviews | 80.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19 | 25 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 230 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SOLILAB | Netfilter |
Customer experience
Earth 3D
iSurf BrainView
Bugs and requests
Earth 3D
Reported bugs
4 issues- Buttons impossible to use after 8k update
- App doesn't work after iOS 2.0.1 update
- Blurry when zooming in
- Earth won't stop moving
Requested features
4 requests- Add more planets and solar system
- Real-time weather and cloud cover
- Ability to control rotation and zoom
- Accurate sun/moon positioning
iSurf BrainView
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Earth 3D
No in-app purchases
iSurf BrainView
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Earth 3D free?
Is iSurf BrainView free?
Which has better reviews, Earth 3D or iSurf BrainView?
Do Earth 3D or iSurf BrainView have ads?
Which is updated more often, Earth 3D or iSurf BrainView?
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