Comparison

Cellular Automata vs Aexels

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

Head to head
About

Cellular Automata

Explore the emergent complexity of simple rules with this implementation of Conway's Game of Life. Transform photos and text into evolving cellular grids, enhanced by audio-reactive generative art and high-performance GPU processing. Share your creations as high-resolution snapshots or animated GIFs.

Highlights
  • Conway's Game of Life simulation
  • Photo and text to cellular grid conversion
  • Audio-reactive generative art
  • High-performance Metal GPU engine
  • Customizable brush sizes and stamps
  • Export snapshots and animated GIFs
  • Curated pattern library
Features
Read full description

Description: Watch simple rules create extraordinary complexity. Cellular Automata is the ultimate implementation of Conway's Game of Life. Built completely natively from the ground up, it transforms your device into a high-performance engine of infinite digital evolution and ambient audiovisual meditation. If you are a generative art enthusiast, a mathematics student, or just looking for a mesmerizing visualization to help you relax, we built this for you. EVOLVE YOUR WORLD Turn memories and text into living math. Import any photo from your camera roll, type a custom message, or load one of 21 included NASA space images (including Hubble captures). Watch as they transform into a living cellular grid, perfectly preserving the original pixel colors as the simulation evolves. AUDIO-REACTIVE GENERATIVE ART Turn math into a sensory experience. Cellular Automata features 10 built-in ambient and upbeat music tracks. Turn on audio-reactive colors and watch your grids and uploaded photos pulse, shimmer, and shift hues in real-time to the bass, mids, and beats of the music. Deep Customization of up to 6 stunning color presets with a full 0-100% hue shift slider. PHOTO UPLOAD WITH EDGE DETECTION Upload your photos into the Game of Life engine with the easy to use edge, brightness, dither or random selection to set initial patterns for the simulation and watch your photos come to life! SHARE YOUR UNIVERSE Created a mesmerizing loop or a stunning chaotic pattern? Instantly export high-resolution snapshots or generate animated GIFs of your simulation. The app seamlessly captures your last 3 seconds of history, including your audio-reactive colors, so you can share your discoveries directly with friends or on social media with a single tap. POWERED BY METAL GPU Experience uncompromised performance. Our custom-built Metal compute engine allows you to run massive 256x256 grids effortlessly with reactive audio coloring. Watch thousands of cells evolve at up to 30 generations per second without dropping a single frame, or switch to a crisp, 1-pixel-per-cell retro mode. TOTAL CONTROL & CUSTOM STAMPS Paint your universe with adjustable brush sizes from 1x1 up to 10x10. Made a mistake? The engine records your last 1,000 generations, allowing you to instantly scrub backward and forward through time. If you create or find a shape you love, extract it as a Custom Stamp to drop into any future simulation. CURATED PATTERN LIBRARY Instantly load 19 iconic, historically significant patterns. Discover classic Still Lifes, Oscillators, and Spaceships. Spawn the Gosper Glider Gun, test the Simkin Glider Gun, or watch the legendary "Acorn" Methuselah evolve for over 5,200 generations. CELLULAR AUTOMATA PRO In-App Purchase Unlock everything with Cellular Automata Pro: Massive Scale: Unlock the massive 256x256 grid size for simulations and photo imports. Audio-Reactive Engine: Unlock all 10 music tracks and the real-time audio-reactive color modulation. Full Time Travel: Unlock the full 1000-step rewind history buffer. Advanced Tools: Unlock large paint brush sizes (5x5 to 10x10) and unlimited grid saves. Custom Stamps: Extract any pattern from the grid and save it as a reusable stamp. Premium Aesthetics: Unlock the beautiful Ocean and Pastel color themes. One-time purchase. No subscription. Built with 100% native Apple frameworks, Cellular Automata respects your device's battery and your privacy, with zero third-party ad tracking. Download Cellular Automata and hold infinity in the palm of your hand!

About

Aexels

Explore a newly discovered universe and compare its features to our own. This app aims to continuously expand knowledge and understanding of this new world over time.

Highlights
  • Universe exploration
  • Discover similarities and differences
  • Expand knowledge
  • Continuous updates
Read full description

A universe is discovered ...Universe X Come along as we explore this new universe and discover the similarities and differences it has with our own. There are things we know for certain about Universe X; there are things we can speculate about and there are many things yet to be discovered. Hopefully, over the life time of this app we will be able to continually increase our knowledge and understanding of this new world.

Screenshots

Cellular Automata4 screens
Aexels4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cellular Automata at 5.0 against Aexels's 4.5. Aexels's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cellular Automata sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Aexels asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cellular Automata holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aexels has 14 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cellular Automata ships an update every 2 months, Aexels every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Cellular Automata versus Aexels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCellular AutomataAexels
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.5 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings114 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.014.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSocially Conscious Software LLCAepryus Software

Customer experience

Cellular Automata

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

Aexels

All ratings14 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral7.1%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Cellular Automata

One-time1
  • Cellular Automata Pro$1.99
None

Aexels

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cellular Automata free?
Cellular Automata is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aexels free?
Aexels is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cellular Automata or Aexels?
Cellular Automata is rated higher. Cellular Automata averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Aexels averages 4.5 from 14 ratings.
Do Cellular Automata or Aexels have ads?
Neither Cellular Automata nor Aexels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cellular Automata or Aexels?
Cellular Automata ships an update every 2 months, and Aexels every 10 days. Most recently, Cellular Automata was updated on October 28, 2026 and Aexels on October 9, 2026.

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