Comparison

Kōnane Lite vs SmartGo One

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

Head to head
About

Kōnane Lite

Experience an ancient Hawaiian board game similar to checkers. Learn the rules with a tutorial, play against the device on a 6x6 board, and customize difficulty. Features beautiful graphics and a Hawaiian glossary.

Highlights
  • Learn to play with tutorial
  • Play against device AI
  • 6x6 board
  • Adjustable difficulty and hints
  • Coral and lava rock graphics
  • Hawaiian glossary with pronunciation
Features
Read full description

Welcome to kōnane, a game played by the ancient people of Hawaii! Legend has is that King Kamehameha could not be defeated. Can you become a master of kōnane as well? --- FEATURES --- - Learn to play by viewing the tutorial. Gameplay is similar to checkers. - Play against the device on a 6 by 6 board. - Various settings to control aspects such as difficulty and the inclusion of hints. - Beautiful graphics to include coral and lava rock playing pieces. - Hawaiian glossary with visual and audio pronunciations. Upgrading to the full version will add the following: - Play games on a larger 8 by 8 board. - Earn your place on leaderboards and obtain achievements using Game Center. - More challenging games when playing against a device. - Share and play.

About

SmartGo One

Learn, play, and study the ancient game of Go with this comprehensive app. It offers adjustable board sizes, a powerful AI engine, interactive books, and a vast database of professional games to help you improve your skills.

Highlights
  • Multiple board sizes (9x9 to 19x19)
  • Powerful KataGo AI engine
  • Interactive Go books
  • 138,000+ professional game records
  • Go problems and tutorials
  • Pattern matching for game analysis
  • Record, annotate, and edit games
Features
Read full description

SmartGo One is the only Go app you’ll need, whether you’re just getting started or already a seasoned player. Learn, play, study, and improve with SmartGo One. Experience the ancient game of Go on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac in a whole new way. Also known as igo (囲碁), wéiqí (围棋), or baduk (바둑), Go begins with an empty board that gradually fills as players surround territory and capture stones. Start with a 9x9 board and move up to 13x13 and 19x19 as your skills grow. SmartGo One adapts to your strength, automatically adjusting handicaps so games remain competitive and enjoyable. And when you’re ready for a serious challenge, the powerful KataGo-based engine delivers strong, rewarding play. But SmartGo One is far more than a way to play Go. Read interactive Go books while replaying the moves they describe to deepen your understanding. Explore a collection of more than 138,000 professional game records spanning both modern and historical masters. Improve your reading and decision-making skills with a growing library of Go problems and tutorials. Want to know how a master would handle a position on your board? SmartGo’s pattern matching technology compares your game with historical pro games and shows how strong players approached similar situations. No matter your level, SmartGo One helps you continue improving. Features include: • 9x9, 11x11, 13x13, and 19x19 board sizes • Powerful KataGo-based engine • Fast and responsive gameplay • Manual or automatic handicap adjustment • Record, annotate, and edit your games • Territory estimator • Hints and move analysis • Undo and replay controls • Tutorial with over 100 problems • Extensive user manual We value your privacy and only collect the minimum information necessary to make our apps work well for you. Learn more at https://smartgo.com/privacy.html. This app is licensed under Apple’s standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Kōnane Lite4 screens
SmartGo One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Kōnane Lite at none against SmartGo One's 10. Kōnane Lite also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 26.0). SmartGo One's advantage is ratings volume (2K vs 6) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SmartGo One sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Kōnane Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 2K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Kōnane Lite's written reviews are positive against 77% of SmartGo One's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kōnane Lite ships an update every 5 weeks, SmartGo One every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Kōnane Lite versus SmartGo One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKōnane LiteSmartGo One
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6 ratings)4.8 (2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews76.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings62K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS9.3 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB157 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInstant InteractiveSmart Go, Inc.

Customer experience

Kōnane Lite

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

SmartGo One

All ratings1,970 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews169 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral8.3%
Negative14.8%

Bugs and requests

Kōnane Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SmartGo One

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
  • Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
  • Inconsistent behavior when passing moves

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add read-only mode
  • Improve move suggestion explanations
  • Introduce difficulty settings for AI
  • Integrate online play functionality
  • Provide more randomness in AI moves

In-app purchases

None

Kōnane Lite

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

SmartGo One

Subscriptions2
  • SmartGo One Pro – Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Games and Features14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time8
  • Go Problems Master Collection$3.99
  • Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy$3.99
  • Go: A Complete Introduction$5.99
Show 5 more
  • How Not to Play Go$5.99
  • Learn to Play Go 1$7.99
  • Graded Go Problems 1$9.99
  • Fundamental Principles of Go$11.99
  • Pro – Lifetime Unlock$99.00

Questions

Is Kōnane Lite free?
Kōnane Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartGo One free?
SmartGo One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kōnane Lite or SmartGo One?
SmartGo One is rated higher. Kōnane Lite averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while SmartGo One averages 4.8 from 2K ratings.
Do Kōnane Lite or SmartGo One have ads?
Neither Kōnane Lite nor SmartGo One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kōnane Lite or SmartGo One?
Kōnane Lite ships an update every 5 weeks, and SmartGo One every 8 days. Most recently, Kōnane Lite was updated on November 1, 2026 and SmartGo One on November 6, 2026.

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