Comparison

MIXIMAL vs Simple Machines by Tinybop

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

Head to head
About

MIXIMAL

Create unique, silly animals by mixing parts or syllables. This app offers a tactile and creative experience with handcrafted animations and analog sounds, inspired by classic flipbooks. It's designed for open-ended exploration with no pressure or goals.

Highlights
  • Mix between 11 animals
  • Create new animals using syllables
  • Combine full animals for surprise animations
  • Switch between 8 languages
  • Lively animations and impressive audio
  • No failing, no goals
Features
Read full description

Mix animals! Mix syllables! Filled with handcrafted animations and sound. MIXIMAL is an entertaining game based on traditional flipbooks we all know from our childhood. Kids create new silly animals and discover their names. We took this classic concept and constructed wonderful handcrafted animations and sounds to complement it. Each animation is created frame-by-frame to provide a warm and organic aesthetic. The sounds originate from analog sources. Our aim with the app is to offer a highly tactile experience, as we think our kids should play with quality toys. Features: + Mix between 11 animals + Make up new animals using syllables + Combine a full animal for a surprise animation + Switch between 8 languages + Lively animations and impressive audio + No failing, no goal, no wrong or right + Supports all iPads and iPhones with iOS 14 or later + No internet access needed! + No advertisements! Available in 8 languages with full voice acting: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese! Learn more about YATATOY: yatatoy.com Contact us for assistance or to give feedback: https://yatatoy.com/info/ MADE BY YATATOY

About

Simple Machines by Tinybop

Explore the playful side of physics and learn about simple machines through interactive experiments. Kids can discover how levers, pulleys, and other mechanisms work by building and testing them in a digital sandbox environment. This app is designed to spark curiosity and understanding of scientific principles.

Highlights
  • Explore 6 simple machines
  • Experiment with real-world physics
  • Investigate physics at work
  • Learn about force and motion
  • Kid-friendly design
  • Interactive labels in 40+ languages
Features
Read full description

Explore the playful side of physics! “I just love how apps like these get kids genuinely excited about science." — COOL MOM TECH Experiment with levers, pulleys, inclined planes, inclined planes, wedges, wheel and axles, and screws. Discover how they work and investigate the invisible forces behind them in this sandbox app. Destroy a castle, make music, send satellites into orbit & more! *** App Store Editor's Choice *** *** Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner *** Simple Machines integrates with STEM curriculum: kids can alter and test each machine to learn about force and motion, actions and reactions, inputs and outputs, conservation of energy, mechanical advantages, and tradeoffs. Get free activity sheets at tinybop.com. Simple Machines is No. 4 in Tinybop’s Explorer’s Library series, designed for curious kids ages 4+ to dive deep into big ideas. The apps in this series have won Best of the App Store, App Store Editors’ Choice, Parents’ Choice, and Children's Technology Review Editor’s Choice awards. Features: * Explore 6 simple machines: levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wedges, wheel and axles, and screws. * Experiment with real world physics, actions and reactions, inputs and outputs. Learn about force and motion. * Investigate the physics at work behind each machine. * Sophisticated sound design rewards experimentation. * Original artwork by James Gilleard. * Smart features use your device’s camera to bring your kids’ world into the app. * Learn new vocabulary in 40+ languages with interactive labels. * Intuitive, safe, and kid-friendly design. * Entertaining for kids and adults alike. FREE handbook Our expert-reviewed handbook is full of facts, interaction hints, and discussion questions to support learning in this app, in the classroom or at home. Download in your app or at: http://tinybop.com/handbooks. Privacy Policy We take your and your child’s privacy very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child, nor do we allow any third-party advertising. When the camera, microphone, and other services are used within an app, your information is neither collected nor distributed outside of the app. Read our complete privacy policy at tinybop.com. Tinybop, Inc. is a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, and artists. We make toys for tomorrow. We’re all over the internet. Visit us: www.tinybop.com Follow us: twitter.com/tinybop Like us: facebook.com/tinybop Peek behind the scenes: instagram.com/tinybop We love hearing your stories! If you have ideas, or something isn’t working as you expect it to, please contact us: hi@tinybop.com. Compatible with iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6 Plus, iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2, 3, mini, and Air. **This app is optimized for iPad 2 and iPhone 5 or higher. Requires iOS 7.0 or later. psst! It's not Tiny Bop, or Tiny Bob, or Tiny Pop. It's Tinybop.

Screenshots

MIXIMAL4 screens
Simple Machines by Tinybop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MIXIMAL at 87% against Simple Machines by Tinybop's 37%. MIXIMAL also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (366 vs 62). Simple Machines by Tinybop's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MIXIMAL costs $4.99 and Simple Machines by Tinybop $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MIXIMAL holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MIXIMAL has 366 ratings behind it against 62, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of MIXIMAL's written reviews are positive against 37% of Simple Machines by Tinybop's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIXIMAL ships an update every 5 months, Simple Machines by Tinybop every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MIXIMAL versus Simple Machines by Tinybop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIXIMALSimple Machines by Tinybop
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.5 (366 ratings) — better3.7 (62 ratings)
Positive reviews86.5% of reviews — better37.4% of reviews
Number of ratings366 — better62
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYATATOYTinybop Inc.

Customer experience

MIXIMAL

All ratings366 ratings
Positive86.3%
Neutral6.6%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive86.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative5.8%

Simple Machines by Tinybop

All ratings62 ratings
Positive62.9%
Neutral14.5%
Negative22.6%
Written reviews131 reviews
Positive37.4%
Neutral8.4%
Negative54.2%

User reviews

MIXIMAL

From 366 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Stylish and simple design
  • 😂 Funny and entertaining animations
  • 🧸 Great for toddlers and young children
  • 💡 Clever and educational concept
  • 🎶 Engaging sounds and music

Room to improve

  • ⚠️ Limited number of animals
  • 🔇 Sound issues reported
  • 📉 App stopped working after updates
  • 🧩 Animals not always easily identifiable

Simple Machines by Tinybop

From 62 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and design
  • 🧠 Educational and informative
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Good for kids and learning
  • 💡 Sparks curiosity and imagination
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 😴 Boring and repetitive
  • 💸 Expensive for limited content
  • 🤷‍♂️ Lacks clear goals or objectives
  • 🤏 Limited interaction and content
  • 🚫 Not a game, more of a toy

Bugs and requests

MIXIMAL

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App won't load after iOS upgrade
  • Sound does not work
  • Crashing in iOS 13
  • App keeps cutting out

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more animals and sounds
  • Implement a selector for animals
  • Allow screenshots without UI elements
  • More animal combinations

Simple Machines by Tinybop

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Crashes immediately on launch
  • Cannot install after purchase
  • App crashes after loading screen
  • No sound
  • Does not work
Show 3 more
  • Download issues
  • Does not open
  • Chinese language not displayed

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add a creative building mode
  • More levels and modules
  • Sandbox mode
  • Ability to build own machines
  • More interactive elements
Show 3 more
  • Add more complex mechanisms
  • Improve wheel and axle interaction
  • Allow bringing up planets in pulley game

In-app purchases

None

MIXIMAL

No in-app purchases

None

Simple Machines by Tinybop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIXIMAL free?
MIXIMAL costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simple Machines by Tinybop free?
Simple Machines by Tinybop costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MIXIMAL or Simple Machines by Tinybop?
MIXIMAL is rated higher. MIXIMAL averages 4.5 out of 5 from 366 ratings, while Simple Machines by Tinybop averages 3.7 from 62 ratings.
Do MIXIMAL or Simple Machines by Tinybop have ads?
Neither MIXIMAL nor Simple Machines by Tinybop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIXIMAL or Simple Machines by Tinybop?
MIXIMAL ships an update every 5 months, and Simple Machines by Tinybop every 4 months. Most recently, MIXIMAL was updated on October 2, 2026 and Simple Machines by Tinybop on October 2, 2026.

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