Oz Phonics 1 vs ShapeShift
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Oz Phonics 1
This app focuses on phonemic awareness and letter/sound knowledge for early readers. It offers 10 interactive exercises and sound reference screens to help children differentiate sounds, match them to letters, and build foundational spelling and reading skills. It aligns with US Common Core State Standards for kindergarten.
- Phonemic awareness exercises
- Letter-sound matching
- Sound differentiation games
- Beginning and ending sound identification
- Rhyme recognition
- Sound reference screens
Read full descriptionHide full description
Visit ozphonics.com for free worksheets to accompany this app. Exercises covering US Common Core State Standards: RF/K/2a, RF/K/2d, RF/K/3a, RF/K/3b(short vowels only). This app is focused on phonemic awareness and letter/sound knowledge. Oz Phonics 1 has 10 exercises and 2 sound reference screens, covering the beginning steps of both spelling and reading. Students are trained to listen first, before they even see the letters written down. Matching the sounds they hear to the written letters is the next step. 1.Sound Match Being able to differentiate between sounds and match identical ones is fundamental to the reading and spelling process. Here we play a sound matching game with a random selection from the 28 sounds covered in this app. 2.Odd One Out – Beginning Sound Listen to all the beginning sounds, then drag the odd one out into the basket. 3. Odd One Out – Rhyme This activity is quite difficult and requires careful listening and remembering. Note that some of the words in this exercise are nonsense words. 4. Phonics Sounds Reference We learn to read and spell by listening to the sounds in the words, not the names of the letters, (though these will be important later on). This screen allows the student to listen to the word first, then hear the sound at the beginning. Note the first sound in ‘quiz’ is /k/ (not /kw/). At this point we teach the sounds of the letter ‘x’ when it comes at the end of the word six, /ks/. We introduce the end sound in the word sunny /ee/. Another new sound is /th/at the beginning of this. Because we could not represent this word with a picture, we have shown it in letters. It is underlined because it is a voiced sound. (An unvoiced /th/ is heard at the beginning of thin.) 5. Odd One Out – Beginning Vowel Vowels are more difficult than consonants. Careful listening is necessary for this activity. Tap the tiles again if you don’t get it the first time. The word honest begins with a silent ‘h’ – the first sound we hear is the short /ŏ/. 6. Missing Beginning Sound Tap on the middle and end tiles to hear that part of the word. Think which sound is missing, then tap on the colored tiles until you find it. Drag that tile onto the question mark. The whole word will then be sounded out. Note that the tiles represent sounds not letters – the word egg has two sounds and therefore only two tiles. 7. Missing End Sound Tap on the first tiles to hear that part of the word. Think which sound is missing, then tap on the colored tiles until you find it. Drag that tile onto the question mark. The whole word will then be sounded out. 8. Missing Middle Sound Tap on the first and last tiles to hear those parts of the word. Think which sound is missing, then tap on the coloured tiles until you find it. Drag that tile onto the question mark. The whole word will then be sounded out. Note that most students find the middle sound most difficult to identify. 9. Sound Match (letter visible) Consonants are black and vowels are red. Tap on the tiles until you find a matching pair. When you tap them quickly, one after the other, the lizards will gobble them up. You may play this again. 10. Phonics Touch Pad Tap on each tile to hear the sound. Make up some two-letter words like on, in, up, at; three-letter words like cat, dog, man, fox, big, sun, ten; four-letter words like this, that, then. You will be surprised how many words the student will be able to make. 11. Vowel Test Test how many vowel sounds your student knows. 12. Phonics Sound Test – 28 sounds Note there are three letters that make the /k/ sound – ‘c’, ‘k’ and ‘q’. It does not matter in which order you tap on them. When the letter ‘y’ is a consonant and says /y/, it is black. When it is a vowel and says /ee/, it is red.
ShapeShift
This game challenges players to transform into various polygons to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. It's a fun way to learn about shapes, with customizable characters and a progressively challenging pace for all ages.
- Polygon morphing mechanic
- Shape-based puzzles
- Enemy combat challenges
- Character customization
- Progressive difficulty
- Educational content
Read full descriptionHide full description
ShapeShift is a captivating and engaging free-to-play educational sidescrolling platformer. The game's core mechanic revolves around the player's ability to morph into various polygons, ranging from triangles to octagons. As you progress throughout the game, you will encounter two types of challenges: shift boxes and enemies. Shift boxes present intriguing puzzles, requiring you to transform into specific shapes based on criteria such as physical shape, name, and number of sides. Successfully clearing shift boxes rewards you with tokens that can be spent in the in-game shop to customize your character with a variety of vibrant colors. You will also encounter enemies with distinct shapes. To overcome them and earn score-boosting bonuses, you must morph into the corresponding shape that matches the enemy's shape as well as the number of sides shown on its face. While ShapeShift is designed to educate and entertain younger audiences by teaching them about shapes, it offers a progressively faster pace as you play, ensuring an enjoyable challenge for players of all ages. ShapeShift is more than just a game; it's an exciting and educational adventure that integrates exhilarating gameplay with the introduction of basic shapes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ShapeShift at Free against Oz Phonics 1's $2.99. ShapeShift also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Oz Phonics 1's advantage is update cadence (every 11 months vs every 28 months). On ads and in-app purchases 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
ShapeShift is free to download; Oz Phonics 1 costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ShapeShift holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShapeShift has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Oz Phonics 1's written reviews are positive against 100% of ShapeShift's.
Oz Phonics 1 ships an update every 11 months, ShapeShift every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Oz Phonics 1 | ShapeShift |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months — better | Every 28 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | DSP Learning Pty Ltd | Saper Solutions LLC |
Customer experience
Oz Phonics 1
ShapeShift
In-app purchases
Oz Phonics 1
No in-app purchases
ShapeShift
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Oz Phonics 1 free?
Is ShapeShift free?
Which has better reviews, Oz Phonics 1 or ShapeShift?
Do Oz Phonics 1 or ShapeShift have ads?
Which is updated more often, Oz Phonics 1 or ShapeShift?
Other comparisons















