Pocket Penguins vs Animals Antarctica
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Penguins
Experience the charming world of African penguins with live, 24/7 streaming from their exhibit. Observe their daily activities, from swimming and nesting to feeding time Q&A sessions with biologists.
- Live 24/7 penguin streaming
- Multiple live webcams
- Observe swimming and diving
- Watch feeding times
- Biologist Q&A sessions
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Warning: Cute alert! Pocket Penguins, streaming in real-time from the California Academy of Sciences, provides an intimate view into our live African penguin exhibit. Watch the birds swim, dive, flirt, nest and relax from any one of three live webcams. Listen in as Academy biologists answer questions from visitors during meal time, daily at 10:30am and 3:00pm PST. The Academy's penguins are part of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Species Survival Program, aimed at conserving this species in the wild. African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) live off the coast of South Africa and Namibia. In 2010, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the species as endangered, or at very high risk of extinction in the wild. Disclaimer: Please note that this app depends largely on your wireless network’s quality of service and data rates may apply. A Wi-Fi connection is recommended.
Animals Antarctica
Explore the animals of Antarctica with real sounds and photos. Engage in interactive games like 'Guess the Sound' and 'Find the Pairs' designed for young children. Learn animal names and descriptions read aloud, with offline play capabilities.
- Real animal sounds and photos
- Interactive games: Guess the sound, Find the pairs
- Animal names and descriptions read aloud
- Offline play
- Parental controls for external links
- Simple controls for young children
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Meet the animals of Antarctica and hear their real voices: the Weddell seal, orca, rockhopper penguin, albatross, leopard seal, humpback whale, Adélie penguin, Antarctic shag, crabeater seal, king penguin, elephant seal and snow petrel. • Listen – tap an animal to hear its voice and see a big photo. Every animal has three photos and three different sounds. • Guess the sound – listen to a sound and find the animal that makes it. • Find the pairs – turn over the cards and match the animals. • Where is it? – hear an animal's name and find it. Every animal's name and a short description are read aloud and shown in your language. Made for young children: big pictures, no reading needed and simple controls. The background music and the narrator's voice can be switched off, and links to our other apps are protected by a parental check. Everything is inside the app, so you can play without an internet connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Pocket Penguins at none against Animals Antarctica's shown. Pocket Penguins also leads on ratings volume (157 vs 1) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Animals Antarctica's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Animals Antarctica holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Penguins has 157 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Pocket Penguins's written reviews are positive against 100% of Animals Antarctica's.
Pocket Penguins ships an update every 22 months, Animals Antarctica every 14 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Pocket Penguins | Animals Antarctica |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (157 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 157 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 14 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 58 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | California Academy of Sciences | Aleksei Neronov |
Customer experience
Pocket Penguins
Animals Antarctica
Bugs and requests
Pocket Penguins
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on launch for some users
- Underwater camera is blurry
- Connectivity issues and black screens
Requested features
5 requests- Add more camera angles and views
- Improve video quality
- Provide more information about the penguins
- Add sound and audio features
- Implement push notifications for feeding times
Animals Antarctica
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pocket Penguins
No in-app purchases
Animals Antarctica
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket Penguins free?
Is Animals Antarctica free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Penguins or Animals Antarctica?
Do Pocket Penguins or Animals Antarctica have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Penguins or Animals Antarctica?
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