Comparison

PhysKey Custom vs HARAKU

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

Head to head
About

PhysKey Custom

Read full description

A custom keyboard built for science and math enthusiasts. Say goodbye to the hassle of symbol input and streamline your typing on mobile. Features Type Greek letters (Ξ±, Ξ², Ξ³...) directly from the key layout Access frequently used physical constants and units in one tap Full coverage of math symbols (∫, Ξ£, √...) Works in every app β€” notes, social media, and more Perfect for writing science reports, logging experimental data, or chatting while studying. No more typing out "alpha" and hunting through conversion suggestions. Give PhysKey a try β€” simple, intuitive, and built for the way you think.

About

HARAKU

Features
Read full description

HARAKU is an interactive educational app that visualizes the physics of waves in real time. Designed for students, teachers and anyone curious about science, it lets you control how waves behave just by moving sliders, so you can intuitively connect the equations with what you see. Developer: Fuji Bit Inc. HARAKU is the waves edition of the "-raku" physics simulation series. It helps you understand the wave concepts taught in middle school, high school and university physics as moving pictures, not just formulas. 12 simulations in 3 categories: - Wave basics - Superposition: Combine two sine waves and watch them reinforce or cancel. Change the amplitude, frequency and phase of each wave independently to see the principle of superposition. - Reflection: See the moment a traveling wave reflects at a boundary. Switch between a fixed end (phase inverts) and a free end (phase is kept), with the incident, reflected and total waves shown in three layers. - Standing waves: Watch standing waves on a string fixed at both ends while changing the harmonic. Check the positions of nodes and antinodes and the effect of tension and damping. - Fourier synthesis: See how square, triangle and sawtooth waves are made of sine waves (harmonics). The more terms you add, the closer the sum gets to the target waveform. - Sound waves - Beats: Overlap two waves with slightly different frequencies and feel the beats. The envelope clearly shows how the amplitude changes. - Doppler effect: Drag the source and see the wavefronts bunch up in front and spread out behind. Go past Mach 1 to create a shock wave. - Air column resonance (new): Switch between closed and open pipes and change the length, air temperature and resonance number to see the resonant frequency and wavelength. The motion of air particles (a longitudinal wave) is shown next to a graph that draws the displacement as a transverse wave, so you can find the nodes and antinodes. - Waves in a plane & light - 2D ripples: Tap the screen to place sources; a numerical solution of the wave equation draws the interference pattern in real time. - Interference: See the lines of reinforcement and cancellation made by two point sources. The fringe spacing changes with the source separation, frequency and speed. - Diffraction: See waves spread through a slit according to Huygens' principle. The ratio of slit width to wavelength changes how strongly they diffract. - Refraction: Visualize Snell's law, including how waves bend at a boundary and total internal reflection at large angles. - Thin-film interference (new): See why soap films and oil slicks shine in color by changing the film thickness, refractive index, angle and what lies below (air or glass). The phase shift on reflection, the color seen under white light, a color-vs-thickness strip and a reflectance-vs-wavelength graph are shown together. Features: - Clean, easy-to-read design (dark and light themes) - Home screen organized by category - Intuitive parameter sliders: touch, try and understand - An explanation sheet with formulas for every simulation - On iPad in landscape, the canvas and control panel are shown side by side - 16 languages (Japanese, English, Chinese Simplified/Traditional, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), German, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Russian, Italian, Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese), following your device language - No sign-in: start exploring right away Price: - Free - In-app purchases: none - Subscriptions: none - Ads: a banner ad by Pangle at the bottom of the screen

Screenshots

PhysKey Custom3 screens
HARAKU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PhysKey Custom at none against HARAKU's shown. HARAKU's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhysKey Custom ships an update every 4 months, HARAKU every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
PhysKey Custom versus HARAKU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhysKey CustomHARAKU
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 10 days β€” better
AdsNo β€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” better
Requires iOS16.015.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size5 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRyosuke AsanoFuji Bit Inc.

In-app purchases

None

PhysKey Custom

No in-app purchases

None

HARAKU

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PhysKey Custom free?
PhysKey Custom is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HARAKU free?
HARAKU is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PhysKey Custom or HARAKU have ads?
HARAKU shows ads; PhysKey Custom does not.
Which is updated more often, PhysKey Custom or HARAKU?
PhysKey Custom ships an update every 4 months, and HARAKU every 10 days. Most recently, PhysKey Custom was updated on October 31, 2026 and HARAKU on November 9, 2026.

Other comparisons