Panda Friends vs Islo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Panda Friends
Care for a virtual panda in a relaxing pixel art world. Engage in simple gameplay, learn about wildlife, and enjoy a lofi soundtrack. Features augmented reality to bring your panda into the real world.
- Virtual panda care
- Relaxing pixel art world
- Augmented reality features
- Wildlife facts and biomes
- Lofi ambient soundtrack
- Mini-games and utilities
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Your Panda Core escape. Meet your new friend in a peaceful pixel art world where you can relax, play, and learn about wildlife. GAMEPLAY A virtual pet app about finding calm moments in your day: • Drop food for your panda and invite companions to play • No timers or complex mechanics — just check in once or twice a day • Track your progress and compete worldwide Perfect for study sessions, work breaks, or winding down before bed. Everything syncs via iCloud across all your devices. POCKET PANDA AR Take your panda beyond the screen and into the real world: • Place your panda on any flat surface using your camera • Record videos and capture photos to share • Save memories with location tags and watermarks DISCOVER Learn about wildlife while you play: • Explore 4 biomes: Forest, Ocean, Polar, and Savanna • Fun facts about real animals and conservation • Beautiful, non-AI photography from around the world COMPANIONS & SCENES Your panda's world is full of friends and places to explore: • Unique animal companions to meet and play with • Handcrafted pixel art scenes to discover • Watch them interact, laugh, and enjoy life together ARCADE & UTILITIES Mini-games for when you want a little action, and utilities for staying productive: • Arcade games with global leaderboards • Zen Match, Journal, Pomodoro Timer, Meditation, and more • Earn rewards to keep your panda happy MUSIC & ATMOSPHERE The lofi soundtrack shuffles continuously: • Creates an ambient backdrop for focus or relaxation • Transitions smoothly between tracks without interruption • Can play for hours without thinking about it Made in collaboration with real artists.
Islo
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Tap an egg, meet a tiny baby and raise it right on your iPhone: in the Dynamic Island, on the Lock Screen, in StandBy and in widgets. Feed it, bathe it, play with it and watch it grow up. It never dies and never makes you feel guilty. HATCH IT AND WATCH IT GROW • Tap the egg until the shell cracks and your baby pops out • It grows from baby to child, teen and adult, celebrating each stage • As an adult it shows a personality shaped by your care: playful, cuddly, foodie or sparkly EVERYDAY CARE • Drag food right to its mouth and watch it munch with puffy cheeks • Clean up little poops with one tap • Rub it with bubbly foam at bath time • Pet it, tickle it, boop its nose • Tuck it in and turn the lights off for a starry night PLAY TOGETHER • Playroom mini-games: Which Way?, Catch the Snacks, Pop the Bubbles • Teach tricks with praise: a big jump, spin, bow and dance • It dances along when you play your music COINS, SHOP AND ALBUM • Earn coins with daily tasks and open a gift box every day • Buy treats, toys and decor for the room • A memory album keeps the hatching, every stage and each learned trick IT LIVES ON YOUR IPHONE • Sleeps on your schedule and wakes up with you • Celebrates your step goal and hides from the rain • Curls up on the charger and puts on a tie before a meeting • Feed, pet and play from the widget or the Live Activity without opening the app NO GUILT, EVER Your creature never dies and never runs away. A basic daily ration always refills, so it never goes hungry. On a frosty day it may catch a cold, which is just a sneeze and a cup of tea. Gentle reminders are cheerful, and skipping one changes nothing. PICK YOUR FRIEND Puff is a warm fluffy ball, Drop is a calm little slime philosopher, Chirp is a quick curious spark of a bird. Dress them in hats, scarves and new outfit packs, and preview every item on the Dynamic Island, the Lock Screen and widgets. VISITS Send your creature to a friend for an hour. They see it in their own Live Activity after they accept the visit. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No sign-up • Steps stay on your device • Only the start times of calendar events are read, never titles or guests • Every data source is off until you turn it on, and Islo is complete without any of them • No ads ISLO PRO Pro grows your family: a second creature and new generations hatched from eggs, up to four together. It adds real-time weather and calendar reactions from our server, a livelier Live Activity, flip and roll tricks, a double daily gift, your own photos in the album and exclusive items. Item packs are one-time purchases. Coins and food baskets are optional purchases. Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, monthly or yearly. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://isloapp.web.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://isloapp.web.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Panda Friends at every 9 days against Islo's every 3 weeks. On price, 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
Both are free to download. Panda Friends sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and Islo sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Panda Friends ships an update every 9 days, Islo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Panda Friends | Islo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 99 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Max Marquardt | Yevhenii Bruchkovskyi |
In-app purchases
Panda Friends
- Axolotl$0.99
- Hedgehog$0.99
- Brown Kitten$0.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Orange Fox$1.99
- Arctic Fox$1.99
- Bunny$1.99
- Buck$2.99
- Doe$2.99
- German Shepherd$2.99
- The Tetons$3.99
- 50's Noir$3.99
- Kawaii City Scene$3.99
- Super Food Unlimited$4.99
Islo
- A handful of coins$0.99
- Animal pack$1.99
- Party pack$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Sweet basket$1.99
- Spooky pack$2.99
- Story Heroes pack$2.99
- Tokyo & Seoul pack$2.99
- A pouch of coins$2.99
- Feast basket$3.99
- A chest of coins$5.99









