Comparison

NBack for iPad vs 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy

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

Head to head
About

NBack for iPad

This application offers a cognitive training tool designed to enhance working memory and mental acuity. It utilizes the N-Back task, a scientifically recognized method for improving cognitive abilities. Users can train their memory through various levels of difficulty.

Highlights
  • Working memory training
  • N-Back task implementation
  • Multiple difficulty levels (1'Back to 10'Back)
  • Cognitive ability enhancement
  • iPad optimized
Features
Read full description

Stimulus => Sensory Memory => Working Memory => Long-Term Memory If you want to sharpen your mental ability, you should train your working memory. Train your working memory with 'NBack'. *NBack:The current answer matches the one from N steps earlier in the sequence. 1'Back --- 10'Back

About

活字帖 | Live Calligraphy

Practice Chinese brush calligraphy on your iPad or iPhone. This app uses original strokes from master calligraphers to help you feel like a true master. It focuses on character structure and offers various classic scrolls for learning.

Highlights
  • Practice Chinese brush calligraphy
  • Uses original master strokes
  • Focuses on character structure
  • Offers 8 classic handscrolls
  • Learn from ancient calligraphers
Features
Read full description

***Featured*** as "Chinese Culture" in more than 120 countries during Chinese Spring Festival, 2015. ***Over 5,000*** 5-star ratings in App Store China. Learn and practice Chinese brush calligraphy with your finger in iPad and iPhone. Live Calligraphy uses the original strokes extracted from the master piece of ancient calligrapher in your practice, so that you can feel yourself like a real master of Chinese calligraphy, and fully enjoy the artistic charm of the art of calligraphy. LanTing calligraphy scroll is generally considered as the best running script in ancient China, and Live Calligraphy provides over 100 characters of LanTing in current release, wish you like them. Enjoy Chinese calligraphy~ Now, the app contains 8 handscrolls: - LanTing (兰亭集序--王羲之) - Basic Strokes (基本笔画--楷书四大家) - Timely Clearing After Snowfall (快雪时晴帖--王羲之) - Namo Amitābha by HongYi (南无阿弥陀佛--弘一法师) - Poem of Fragrance (秾芳诗帖--宋徽宗) - Confucius Passed Away (仲尼梦奠帖--欧阳询) - Ode to Qin (琴赋--文征明) - Heart Sutra (心经--赵孟頫) *Keyword*: Chinese calligraphy, Chinese culture/art, practice Chinese characters --------------------------------- 你是否曾想像自己如书法大师一样挥毫呢?来试试吧,用你的手指在iPad和iPhone上练习毛笔书法。 “活字帖”利用中国古代名家书法作品中的原笔迹,在你描摹或者临帖时绘制出来,使得你的书法效果能媲美真迹,让你体验如书法家一样的练字感受,更真切的感受书法的魅力。 本作与现有大多数作品的最大区别在于,大多数现有的作品只是根据手指运行轨迹,用计算机计算模拟出类似于毛笔笔迹的效果。但是,因为触摸屏的限制,计算机再如何聪明,又如何能知道用户运笔时的轻重缓急,浓淡干湿呢?故本作规避了用笔技巧,着重于练习每个字的字体结构。因此,本作并不能代替笔墨纸砚的常规练字方法,但是却可以从一定程度上提高用户的书法水平。 《兰亭集序》被誉为中国古代书法的第一行书,本版本免费提供前100个字,后续字体需要IAP解锁或者由完整版获得。 本App现有8个字帖: - 兰亭集序(王羲之) - 基本笔画(楷书四大家) - 快雪时晴帖(王羲之) - 南无阿弥陀佛(弘一法师) - 秾芳诗帖(宋徽宗) - 仲尼梦奠帖(欧阳询) - 琴赋(文徵明) - 般若波罗蜜多心经 (赵孟頫) 希望大家喜欢。

Screenshots

活字帖 | Live Calligraphy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy at Free against NBack for iPad's $2.99. 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 50%) and ratings volume (47 vs 1). NBack for iPad's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 9). On update cadence 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

活字帖 | Live Calligraphy is free to download; NBack for iPad costs $2.99 up front. 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. NBack for iPad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NBack for iPad holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy has 47 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of NBack for iPad's written reviews are positive against 84% of 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NBack for iPad ships an update every 12 months, 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
NBack for iPad versus 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNBack for iPad活字帖 | Live Calligraphy
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.5 (47 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews84.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings147 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 6 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.213.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYasuyoshi Ota哲 盛

Customer experience

NBack for iPad

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

活字帖 | Live Calligraphy

All ratings45 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.9%
Written reviews171 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral4.7%
Negative11.1%

In-app purchases

None

NBack for iPad

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

活字帖 | Live Calligraphy

One-time9
  • Namo Amitābha$0.99
  • Confucius Passed Away$0.99
  • Ode to Qin$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Heart Sutra$0.99
  • Thousand Character Classic$0.99
  • Timely Clearing After Snowfall$1.99
  • Poem of Fragrance$1.99
  • Basic Strokes$1.99
  • Lan Ting$2.99

Questions

Is NBack for iPad free?
NBack for iPad costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy free?
活字帖 | Live Calligraphy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NBack for iPad or 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy?
NBack for iPad is rated higher. NBack for iPad averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy averages 4.5 from 47 ratings.
Do NBack for iPad or 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy have ads?
活字帖 | Live Calligraphy shows ads; NBack for iPad does not.
Which is updated more often, NBack for iPad or 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy?
NBack for iPad ships an update every 12 months, and 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy every 6 months. Most recently, NBack for iPad was updated on October 20, 2026 and 活字帖 | Live Calligraphy on October 29, 2026.

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