Comparison

Cortona3D Viewer vs Sphere

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

Head to head
About

Cortona3D Viewer

View interactive 3D and 2D product catalogs, work instructions, and maintenance guides. Immerse yourself in 3D procedures and VRML scenes with augmented reality on your iPhone and iPad. Supports legacy 2D and interactive 3D content derived from CAD.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality support
  • Interactive 3D and 2D content
  • Multi-touch gestures for navigation
  • Exploded views and bill of materials
  • Part search and hide/show
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • Content upload and sharing
Features
Read full description

Cortona3D Viewer is your tool for interactive 3D and 2D product catalogs, work instructions, maintenance guides, and manuals created using Cortona3D RapidAuthor. With this tool, you can immerse yourself in 3D procedures and VRML scenes through augmented reality on your iPhone. Many equipment manufacturers are now enhancing their technical documentation. The Cortona3D Viewer supports AR, 3D interaction, full-text search, and interactive 2D elements, making it compatible with both legacy 2D and interactive 3D content derived from CAD. Interactive 3D streamlines complex maintenance and assembly communication, aids part identification, and facilitates mechanical skill training. It can also serve as a sales tool for product feature demos. Cortona3D Viewer on iOS complements RapidAuthor tools. RapidAuthor generates comprehensive technical documents with text, 2D, and 3D graphics from CAD and bill of materials data. Even if your company doesn't use Cortona3D RapidAuthor, you can still install Cortona3D Viewer to access sample content featuring 3D, legacy 2D graphics, and AR elements. Features: — AR support for procedures and VRML scenes — Multi-touch gestures for navigation — Exploded views and full bill of materials hierarchy — Part-specific additional information on touch — Various selection modes for parts — Part search, hide/show — Order parts using the shopping cart — Detailed Parts List with Part Number, Nomenclature, etc. — Links from IPC and procedures to other documents — Comprehensive viewing of 2D images in SGM and SVG formats — Inspect sheet transition animations in parts catalogs — Playback or scrub through animated install/remove sequences — Step-by-step instructions as text overlay — Dynamic cross-section and distance measuring — Navigation cube — Universal app for iPhone and iPad — Content upload and sharing via iCloud — Examples of ESA astronaut training content.

About

Sphere

This XR solution empowers businesses globally to boost operational efficiency and reduce costs. It offers broad device support and integrates seamlessly with existing tools for diverse enterprise use cases like collaboration, training, and sales.

Highlights
  • Interoperable XR solution
  • Supports AR/VR headsets, mobile, and PC
  • Five enterprise XR use cases
  • Flexible deployment options
  • Integrates with conferencing tools
  • No-code content creation
  • Backend system integration
Features
Read full description

Sphere is the most complete, interoperable, and enterprise-ready XR solution on the market, helping businesses of all sizes and around the globe achieve operational efficiencies and cost savings across a variety of job functions. * Most supported devices and platforms, including AR and VR headsets, monocular devices, mobile devices, and PC * A single application with turnkey support for five major enterprise XR use cases: spatial collaboration, sales showcasing, remote assistance, workflow guidance and training, and immersive build planning * Flexible deployment options, including SaaS (standard), private cloud, and on-prem * Out-of-the-box integration with existing conferencing tools like Teams * Built-in CMS that enables usage of existing 2D and 3D assets for rapid, no-code content creation * Integration-ready, with a trusted network of partners to deliver backend systems integrations with PLM, LMS, ERP systems

Screenshots

Cortona3D Viewer4 screens
Sphere4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sphere at Free against Cortona3D Viewer's $2.99. Sphere also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). On ratings volume, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Sphere is free to download; Cortona3D Viewer costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sphere holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cortona3D Viewer ships an update every 7 months, Sphere every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and July 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cortona3D Viewer versus Sphere: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCortona3D ViewerSphere
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings44
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB301 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperParallelGraphicsComptex Solution Engineering GmbH

Customer experience

Cortona3D Viewer

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

Sphere

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Cortona3D Viewer

No in-app purchases

None

Sphere

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cortona3D Viewer free?
Cortona3D Viewer costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sphere free?
Sphere is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cortona3D Viewer or Sphere?
Sphere is rated higher. Cortona3D Viewer averages 3.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Sphere averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Cortona3D Viewer or Sphere have ads?
Neither Cortona3D Viewer nor Sphere shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cortona3D Viewer or Sphere?
Cortona3D Viewer ships an update every 7 months, and Sphere every 2 months. Most recently, Cortona3D Viewer was updated on September 10, 2026 and Sphere on July 16, 2026.

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