Microscope vs mScopePal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Microscope
Transform your iPhone into a high-magnification microscope. Explore the intricate details of everyday objects like skin, eyes, and hair with impressive digital zoom. Amaze others by revealing hidden cellular structures and fine particles.
- High-magnification digital zoom
- Magnify skin and reveal cell structure
- View inner eye details
- Examine hair particles
- Impress friends with detailed views
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Turn your iPhone into a powerful electron microscope! Amaze your friends and trick them into believing that your iPhone also acts as a microscope and is capable of magnifying objects by thousands of times. Point the iPhone camera at your hands, and show your friends how the digital zoom magnifies your skin, revealing the cell structure with the precision and detail offered only by an expensive microscope! Aim the iPhone camera at your eye, and cause amazement when your screen will begin showing the inner parts of your eye, amongst blood vessels and various other filaments and cell. Finally, point the iPhone to your hair, and dazzle your friends as the tiniest particles your hair is made of begin to reveal themselves on the iPhone's screen!
mScopePal
This camera app aids in capturing microscopic images by allowing easy adjustment of color and brightness. It supports zooming and manual focus to avoid disturbing the microscope's settings. It's designed to be used with a microscope and an adapter on compatible Apple devices.
- Microscopic image capture
- Color adjustment (white balance)
- Brightness adjustment (exposure)
- Zooming support
- Manual focus function
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mScopePal is a camera app specialized for microscopic shooting. (This is not an application that turns your iPhone into a microscope. Run mScopePal on iPhone or iPod touch which is attached to a microscope using an available adapter etc.) Easy adjustment of color (white balance) and brightness (exposure). Zooming supported. The manual focus function does not disturb the focus of the microscope. How to use: https://studio-phiz.com/apps/mscopepal-desc-eng/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: mScopePal at 2.7 against Microscope's 2.0. mScopePal also leads on review sentiment (44% vs 4%) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 10 months). Microscope's advantage is ratings volume (223 vs 27) and iOS requirement (3.1 vs 12.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
mScopePal holds the better App Store score, 2.7 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microscope has 223 ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 4% of Microscope's written reviews are positive against 44% of mScopePal's.
Microscope ships an update every 10 months, mScopePal every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Microscope | mScopePal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.0 (223 ratings) | 2.7 (27 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 4.3% of reviews | 44.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 223 — better | 27 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 3.1 — better | 12.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LogSat LLC | Studio Phiz |
Customer experience
Microscope
mScopePal
Bugs and requests
Microscope
Reported bugs
6 issues- Information screen goes black and unresponsive
- Cannot return to main screen from info screen
- Camera recognition fails for non-hand/eye/hair objects
- App shows same image even with camera covered
- Works only once then requires app restart
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- Selection screen doesn't function as intended
Requested features
7 requests- Show actual magnified images of scanned objects
- Real microscope functionality
- Ability to take multiple different pictures
- Clearer description that app is a prank/gag
- Update for iPod Touch with camera compatibility
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Remove pre-loaded limitation
- Working information/selection screen
mScopePal
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Microscope
No in-app purchases
mScopePal
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Microscope free?
Is mScopePal free?
Which has better reviews, Microscope or mScopePal?
Do Microscope or mScopePal have ads?
Which is updated more often, Microscope or mScopePal?
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