Sonar Ruler vs Spacemap
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sonar Ruler
This experimental app uses your iPhone's speaker to send out sonic pulses and measures the echo to estimate distances up to 60 feet. It's a fun and innovative way to explore sonar principles, perfect for educational purposes or impressing friends with unique iPhone capabilities.
- Sonic distance measurement
- Up to 60 feet range
- Selectable units (feet, inches, meters)
- Custom saved settings
- Educational sonar demonstration
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Sonar Ruler is a winner in the Best App Ever Awards - "Most innovative use of iPhone hardware" category! The Amazing New Sonar Ruler is an experimental app that uses echoes to measure distances with your iPhone! It uses the same principles that dolphins use to find food! It sends a short pulse from the speaker and measures how long that pulse takes to bounce off of something and return to the phone. It then estimates how far away you are. Use two devices to find the distance between them, without any wifi connection! Use "quiet" mode - with ultrasonic frequencies most people can't hear! Impress your friends with what this unique app can accomplish using only an iphone! GIZMODO.com: "that's a damned neat trick for a phone to be able to do." Features: - Set Units to feet, inches, or meters - Custom saved settings for measuring in different environments If you're a teacher, this app is a great way to teach students the principles of sonar, and how sound propagates through air. Enjoy! Follow us on twitter @LaanLabs NOTE: This is an experimental app, although it can be quite accurate, any measurements taken should be verified before using them.
Spacemap
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“iPhone Storage Full” again? Which videos and photos are actually taking the space? Will compressing lose the date, the location or the album? Why didn't free space go up after you deleted things? Spacemap draws your photo library as a map by size, tells you what you can save, and replaces only what you choose with smaller copies. You see the difference first, and the originals stay recoverable for 30 days. SEE WHAT'S USING THE SPACE • A map of 4K videos, other videos, photos, Live Photos, screen recordings and screenshots • Space used by each year • Reasons ranked by how much you can save • Sizes are read without downloading originals from iCloud SHRINK VIDEOS, KEEP WHAT MATTERS • Largest videos first, nothing selected until you choose • Frame rate, HDR and Dolby Vision are kept • Four quality levels, from keeping every pixel to 720p • Watch a preview, then compare the same frame or play both side by side SHRINK PHOTOS AND SCREENSHOTS • Each photo is tried at several settings and the smallest file that passes a quality check is kept • Photos that are already small are left alone • Compare at full size before you replace MAKE LIVE PHOTOS YOURS • Drag to any frame and keep it as a still photo • Keep the original photo, several frames, or both NOTHING IS REPLACED ON TRUST • Each new file is checked before the original is removed. If a check fails, the original stays • Date, location, favorite, caption, keywords, rating and position in albums carry over • Originals move to Recently Deleted, where you can recover them for 30 days • Spacemap tells you when space returns, and how to empty Recently Deleted ALSO • Before You Shoot: how many minutes of video fit right now • Limited Access is supported • iCloud and iPhone storage are explained separately • Filters by year, month, size and video length • A Home Screen widget for free space • Send smaller: fit a video under 10, 25 or 50 MB, or a photo under 1, 2 or 5 MB, without changing your library • A Lock Screen widget and a Control Center control show how many minutes of video still fit Free to download: the first 1 GB is free, then a one-time Spacemap Pro purchase replaces without a limit. No account, no ads, no subscription, no data collected. Everything runs on your iPhone. Spacemap works only with your photo library. It can't reduce apps or System Data.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sonar Ruler at none against Spacemap's 1. Sonar Ruler also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 27.0). Spacemap's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 105 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Spacemap sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sonar Ruler asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sonar Ruler ships an update every 105 months, Spacemap every 3 days. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.
| Parameter | Sonar Ruler | Spacemap |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 43.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 105 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 27.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Laan Labs | RUI QI |
Bugs and requests
Sonar Ruler
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes within 3 seconds of opening on iPhone 6 and older models
- Won't open on iOS 8.4 and later versions
- No chirping sound emitted on some devices
- Feedback loop and screaming noise on certain hardware
- Phone locks up requiring hard restart
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- Broken help video URL
- Measurements lock at same distance regardless of location
- Metric mode produces incorrect readings
- Incompatible with iPhone 4S, 5, and first-generation devices
- Inconsistent performance across different iPhone models
Requested features
11 requests- Room mapping by rotating phone in circle
- Vertical distance measurement capability
- Better ambient noise filtering
- Clearer, more intuitive user interface
- Optimized default settings (frequency, filter, chirp)
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- Larger, easier-to-manipulate sliders
- iPod Touch compatibility
- Automatic zoom functionality for measurements
- Visual indicator for when to use short vs long distance mode
- Better help video and documentation
- Accessibility features for blind users
Spacemap
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sonar Ruler
No in-app purchases
Spacemap
- Spacemap Pro$9.99






