Comparison

Reading Skills 4A vs ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe

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

Head to head
About

Reading Skills 4A

Features
Read full description

Do you know how a rainbow is made? Have you ever wondered how a snake sheds it skin? How do turkey vultures help people? What makes a kite fly? Reading Skills 4A is a collection of nonfiction passages with interactive learning activities, written by children's author Marne Ventura, M.A. and developed by Fred Ventura, Ph.D., as part of the Reading Skills Series published by Ventura Educational Systems. Understanding informational text is essential to literacy. To help young readers develop this skill, twelve fun, high-interest passages about snakes, vultures, forces of flight, and more, written at the fourth grade reading level, are presented: * Chasing Rainbows * New Skin for Snakes * Bird Watching Journal Entry * The Water-Saving Plant * Turkey Vultures * The California Poppy * Banana Smoothie * The Four Forces of Flight * Flour Power * A Transparent Invention * Thirsty? * Superhero Soap Each passage is followed by three engaging activities based on the following Common Core Standards for Grade 4 Language Arts: • comprehension • vocabulary • main idea and supporting details • drawing conclusions • making inferences • summarizing • synonyms and antonyms • multiple meanings words • fact vs. opinion • genre • author's purpose • compare and contrast • text features The Reading Skills 4A follow-up activities for each of the 12 passages are described below: Word Fun - a clue is given along with the scrambled letters of a vocabulary word from the passage. The challenge is to unscramble the letters to spell the word. Fact Check - helps improve recall and comprehension. Students read a statement and tap either True or False based on the contents of the passage. Skills Practice - Students practice reading comprehension skills by answering multiple choice questions. A record-keeping component keeps track of the student’s scores on all of the activities.

About

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe

This app teaches young children letter sounds using a science-backed phonics approach. It focuses on lowercase letters with engaging visuals and multi-sensory learning to build a strong foundation for reading.

Highlights
  • Master letter sounds
  • Scientifically sound phonics
  • Engaging visuals with photos
  • Multi-sensory learning
  • Repetition and rhythm
  • Lowercase letter focus
  • Distraction-free learning
Features
Read full description

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 - Learn Letter Sounds the Right Way! Science-Backed Phonics for Early Reading Success! Unlock your child's reading journey with ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2! Built on the foundational Science of Reading, this engaging app focuses on the crucial alphabetic principle, teaching your child the essential sounds of lowercase letters – the key to unlocking reading success. Give your child the fundamental tools they need to become a confident reader. Just as numbers form the basis of math, understanding letter sounds is the cornerstone of reading. By mastering these sounds, your child gains the power to decode words and build a strong reading foundation. ABC Magic Phonics 2 directly addresses the alphabetic principle – the understanding that letters represent sounds and that these sounds can be blended together to form words. Grounded in the Science of Reading, our app prioritizes teaching letter sounds, the most effective way to initiate reading skills. *Master Letter Sounds: Learn the primary sounds of all lowercase letters – the building blocks of 95% of printed text. *Scientifically Sound: Based on the Science of Reading, focusing on the proven method of teaching letter sounds first. *Engaging Visuals: Each letter is paired with four phonetic photo images that clearly represent its sound. *Multi-Sensory Learning: Combines visual (colored letters, photos), auditory (letter sounds, photo names), and kinesthetic (touching to hear) learning. *Repetition & Rhythm: The app's design incorporates repetition and rhythm to aid memorization of letter sounds. *Lowercase Focus: Smartly prioritizes lowercase letters, which make up the vast majority of written words. *Distraction-Free Learning: All unnecessary elements are removed, allowing your child to concentrate on letter-sound associations. *Builds on Prior Learning: A natural progression for children who may have used previous apps in the series. *Prepares for Future Reading: Lays a solid foundation for more advanced phonics skills and reading fluency. Give your child a smart start! Unlike traditional methods, ABC Magic Phonics 2 focuses on lowercase letters first. Why? Because 95% of the words in books and periodicals are in lowercase. By prioritizing these essential letters, you're maximizing your child's learning efficiency. Children actively engage by touching letters to hear their sounds and touching photos to hear their names. This auditory reinforcement, combined with clear visual associations, makes learning fun and effective. Young learners will enjoy repeating the sounds they hear, solidifying their understanding. Created by a team of experienced educators using accelerated learning techniques and Montessori principles, ABC Magic Phonics 2 has been rigorously tested and loved by preschool children. Help us make learning even better! Please share your feedback and suggestions as we continue to improve ABC Magic Phonics 2. Give your child the magic of phonics! Download ABC Magic Phonics 2 today and set them on the path to reading success!

Screenshots

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe at 3 against Reading Skills 4A's 1. ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe also leads on price ($1.99 vs $2.99). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

Reading Skills 4A costs $2.99 and ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Skills 4A ships an update every 17 months, ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Reading Skills 4A versus ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading Skills 4AABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe
Price$2.99$1.99 — better
Rating—4.3 (43 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—43 — better
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 15 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB109 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVentura Educational SystemsPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY

In-app purchases

None

Reading Skills 4A

No in-app purchases

None

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reading Skills 4A free?
Reading Skills 4A costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe free?
ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Reading Skills 4A or ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe have ads?
Neither Reading Skills 4A nor ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reading Skills 4A or ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe?
Reading Skills 4A ships an update every 17 months, and ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe every 15 months. Most recently, Reading Skills 4A was updated on October 26, 2026 and ABC MAGIC PHONICS 2 Deluxe on October 24, 2026.

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