READING MAGIC 3 vs RelationShapes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
READING MAGIC 3
This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure for children. It uses interactive activities and science-backed methods to help master words with two or more syllables, building essential literacy skills.
- Science of Reading methodology
- Focus on multi-syllable words
- Blending and segmenting skills
- Phonemic awareness development
- Three engaging learning modes
- Interactive reading games
- Progress tracking
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Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 3! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 3! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure through interactive activities focused on short vowel words containing multiple syllables. Meticulously designed to provide an advanced boost to your child’s phonemic awareness, this app combines three foundational pillars of literacy science into one powerful, interactive ecosystem: Blending (Listening), Segmenting (Speaking), and Decoding (Reading). Grounded firmly in Science of Reading principles and utilizing University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) guidelines, READING MAGIC provides specific, precise training with extensive repetitions to help young brains bridge the gap between spoken sound units and complete words. IDEAL FOR BOTH BEGINNING PRE-READERS AND STRUGGLING READERS For Beginning Pre-Readers: A stress-free launchpad. By practicing words through pure sound sequences first, your child masters the internal mechanics of reading without cognitive overload. This keeps them from being frustrated by trying to learn separate, difficult skills at the same time. For Struggling or Remedial Readers: If your child's reading is hesitant or choppy, or if they guess at words, this app provides the targeted intervention recommended by modern reading science to help young brains bridge the gap. THREE CRITICAL SKILL-BUILDING PILLARS While many phonics programs completely overlook the auditory mechanics of reading, our program systematically guides your child through the complete progression of decoding: Skill 1: Blending (Listening): Interactive listening activities train your child’s neural processing ability to hear isolated sounds in words and join them together mentally. This builds the vital auditory runway required for future fluency. Skill 2: Segmenting (Speaking): True spelling and reading independence require the ability to pull spoken words apart into their individual sound units. These exercises build explicit awareness of the acoustic structure of language. Skill 3: Decoding (Reading): The ultimate bridge to literacy. Your child applies their mastery of blending and segmenting directly to text, smoothly moving from spoken sounds to visual words. STRUCTURAL SPACING & INSTRUCTION (Science-Backed Layout) Our app builds the actual findings of reading science directly into the user interface for maximum visual clarity: Anti-Crowding Design: Peer-reviewed research, including Marinus et al. (2016) and Wery & Diliberto (2017), demonstrates that generous letter spacing is critical for early decoding. By placing each letter on its own isolated card with distinct physical gaps, our layout eliminates visual crowding, allowing your child to isolate each sound unit cleanly. True Comprehension: The app strictly discourages picture guessing, forcing children to rely purely on their decoding skills to foster true comprehension and build lasting confidence. INDEPENDENT LEARNING & AESTHETIC SIMPLICITY Distraction-Free: Our minimalist design eliminates overstimulating audio-visual clutter, excessive sound effects, and animations to keep your child entirely focused on the mechanics of reading. Stress-Free Growth: Built-in natural feedback loops offer gentle corrections, nurturing self-discovery and independent learning at your child's own pace. EXPERT RESEARCH BACKING "Before a child can read fluently with their eyes, they must be able to blend fluently with their ears. Weakness in auditory blending is one of the strongest early predictors of later reading failure." — Dr. Joseph Torgesen, Florida State University. "Teaching students to blend and segment benefited their reading much more than did a multiple-skills approach... and teaching phonemic awareness with letters created effect sizes almost twice as large as teaching children without letters." — The National Reading Panel (NRP) Meta-Analysis
RelationShapes
This educational app helps young children develop visual-spatial reasoning and early math skills through open-ended play. It offers two modes: 'Match It' for shape exploration and 'Picture It' for creative expression with accessories and backgrounds. Designed for families and educators, it supports multiple user profiles and collaborative play.
- Visual-spatial reasoning development
- Open-ended creative play
- Shape matching and creation
- Multiple user profiles
- Collaborative split-screen play
- Progress monitoring
- Printable learning resources
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Build a strong foundation of early math skills with our award-winning first app, RelationShapes®. Strengthen young children’s visual-spatial reasoning and creative expression through open-ended play! VizuVizu® apps are based on the UNESCO prize-winning visual education method created by Y. Agam, a world-renowned pioneer of kinetic art. To learn more, visit www.vizuvizu.com. Accolades for RelationShapes: • SIIA CODiE Awards Finalist, Best PreK / Early Childhood Learning Solution (2017) • Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner & Parents’ Choice Awards® epic™ LIST (2017) • Common Sense Media “Best Of” Lists: Best Geometry Games, Apps, and Websites for Kids; Multiplayer Apps; Top Puzzle Apps & Must-Have Apps for Family Travel (2017) • Children's Technology Review Editor's Choice (2016) • Teachers with Apps Certified Digital Product, and Best Play & Learn Apps (2016) • App Store, New Apps We Love (RelationShapes for iPad, 2016) RelationShapes offers two interrelated areas that invite children to play and replay: Match It – Exploration and discovery have free reign as children manipulate abstract and figurative shape combinations to make a match – any way they choose! Picture It – Creativity and delight abound as children use their imagination to personalize their shape pictures with vivid accessories and backgrounds that add humor and context. RelationShapes is designed with young learners and their grown-ups in mind. Key Features for Families & Educators: • Share the experience: Four user profiles included with each app download • Level up: Eight levels of increasingly challenging activities promote flexible thinking and creativity • Play together: Collaborate and cooperate via the split-screen design and multi-touch capability • Play flexibly: Use at home or in the classroom for independent play, paired learning, center time, or small group instruction • Monitor progress: View the skills children learn and practice as they progress through each level • Collect creations: Save and review children’s pictures in the gallery • Extend beyond the screen: Connect digital and real world play and learning with six printable Extended Learning resources Children will practice and further develop their fine motor skills while playing RelationShapes. Devices with larger screens will offer the most optimal user experience. We take your privacy very seriously. The app does not include third party advertising, does not collect children’s personally identifying information, and all content created in the app stays on the device. Privacy Policy: https://vizuvizu.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://vizuvizu.com/app-terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RelationShapes at none against READING MAGIC 3's 1. RelationShapes also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 22 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. READING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RelationShapes asks for nothing beyond the download.
READING MAGIC 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 8 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of READING MAGIC 3's written reviews are positive against 100% of RelationShapes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
READING MAGIC 3 ships an update every 22 months, RelationShapes every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | READING MAGIC 3 | RelationShapes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (16 ratings) — better | 4.8 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.7 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 250 MB | 133 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY | Vizuvizu LLC |
Customer experience
READING MAGIC 3
RelationShapes
In-app purchases
READING MAGIC 3
- Deluxe Upgrade$3.99
RelationShapes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is READING MAGIC 3 free?
Is RelationShapes free?
Which has better reviews, READING MAGIC 3 or RelationShapes?
Which is updated more often, READING MAGIC 3 or RelationShapes?
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