Comparison

Pocket Experiments Science Lab vs Physics Handbook

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Experiments Science Lab

Features
Read full description

Twenty-six rooms. Not a workbook โ€” a bench in each one. You set the parts out yourself, turn the knobs, and measure with the instruments. โ€ข Hang as many weights as you like anywhere along a balance beam, and even it up โ€ข Drag molecules onto the bench and see what they form โ€ข Set a magma's silica and the depth where it freezes, erupt it, then look at the rock through a hand lens and measure the grains โ€ข Stretch two strings, detune one, and listen to the beats โ€ข Drop three seismometers on a map; three circles meet at one point, and that point is the epicenter Every number is measured off the picture. Nothing here works a value out of a formula and then "checks" it against the same formula. The grains under the lens are really drawn, and their size is really measured. Turn a knob and the picture changes; when the picture changes, the numbers change with it. Every room has three steps: 1. Move it โ€” turn one knob and watch what changes 2. Count it โ€” line the measurement up against the formula and look at the gap 3. Check it โ€” one question, and the reason either way Every room also has a question box. Clear it and the room moves up a tier: none โ†’ bronze โ†’ silver โ†’ gold. There are 78 questions in all. But the questions are not the main act. Playing with the bench is; a question is the detour you take when you think โ€œwait โ€” could I actually build that?โ€ The topics are middle school and high school science: forces and motion, springs and buoyancy, pendulums, circuits, electromagnets, ray optics, lenses, sound, changes of state, solubility, titration, electrolysis, chemical reactions, preparing and collecting gases, the microscope, cell division, photosynthesis, flower structure, heredity, strata, rocks and volcanoes, earthquakes, and the sky. Three neighbors of science come along too: probability, logic gates and regular expressions. ADS AND THE ONE-TIME PURCHASE The app is free and shows ads: a banner along the bottom of the screen, and a full-screen ad when you open the app. All 26 rooms and all 78 questions are open from the first launch. There is exactly one in-app purchase and all it does is turn the ads off โ€” it unlocks nothing and adds nothing. It is a single one-time purchase with no subscription (ยฅ5,000 in Japan; the price for your country is shown in the app). Not based on, or affiliated with, any particular textbook.

About

Physics Handbook

Features
Read full description

Physics Handbook is an offline reference for school and first-year university physics: 168 articles in 17 topics, each with its formula, the symbols explained, a worked example and โ€” in almost every case โ€” a calculator. EVERY TOPIC IN ONE PLACE Kinematics, dynamics, statics and hydrostatics, work and energy, momentum and collisions, rotation, oscillations, waves and sound, molecular physics and thermodynamics, electrostatics, direct current, magnetism and induction, electromagnetic oscillations and waves, optics, quantum and atomic physics, nuclear physics, special relativity. READ A FORMULA PROPERLY Each article opens with its main formula and 382 useful rearrangements in total, then a table of symbols with SI units, the conditions under which the formula holds, the physical meaning in short paragraphs, and the mistakes that cost marks most often โ€” 505 of them collected across the book. SOLVE, NOT JUST LOOK UP 161 articles include a calculator. Pick the value you are looking for, type in what you know in the units shown, and the app solves the formula for that unknown. LEARN FROM WORKED EXAMPLES All 168 articles contain a complete worked example: the given values, the reasoning step by step, and the answer with its unit. BUILD YOUR OWN CHEAT SHEET The cheat sheet screen lists formulas without the explanations, filtered by topic or by your starred articles โ€” a fast way to revise before a test. FIND IT FAST Search by the name of a law, a formula, a quantity or a symbol. Filter by topic, by favourites, or show only articles that have a calculator. THE TABLES YOU KEEP NEEDING 51 physical constants with values and units, 38 SI units with 11 prefixes, and a short guide to solving problems. 48 LANGUAGES Interface available in 48 languages. Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu read right to left while formulas keep their standard direction. COMFORTABLE TO USE Light and dark themes, phones and tablets, portrait and landscape. Physics Pro AI tutor: step-by-step physics explanations on your device Problem scanner: camera or photo, review the text before asking AI tutoring requires iOS/iPadOS 26 or later on a compatible device with Apple Intelligence enabled and its model ready. AI answers can contain mistakes. The tutor uses a language supported by Apple Intelligence, on-device Apple Translation where available, or English with a short note. The scanner and handbook work without AI. All formulas and calculators remain free. Monthly and yearly plans are auto-renewing subscriptions; manage or cancel them in App Store settings. Lifetime is a one-time purchase with no automatic renewal. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Pocket Experiments Science Lab4 screens
Physics Handbook3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Physics Handbook at none against Pocket Experiments Science Lab's shown. Physics Handbook also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Pocket Experiments Science Lab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Physics Handbook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Experiments Science Lab ships an update every 10 days, Physics Handbook every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Pocket Experiments Science Lab versus Physics Handbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket Experiments Science LabPhysics Handbook
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 5 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size18 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMIZOU, CO., LTD.Oleg Korunov

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pocket Experiments Science Lab

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$29.99
3 purchases

Physics Handbook

Subscriptions2
  • Physics Pro โ€” Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Physics Pro โ€” Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Physics Pro โ€” Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Pocket Experiments Science Lab free?
Pocket Experiments Science Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Physics Handbook free?
Physics Handbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pocket Experiments Science Lab or Physics Handbook have ads?
Pocket Experiments Science Lab shows ads; Physics Handbook does not.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Experiments Science Lab or Physics Handbook?
Pocket Experiments Science Lab ships an update every 10 days, and Physics Handbook every 5 days. Most recently, Pocket Experiments Science Lab was updated on November 13, 2026 and Physics Handbook on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons