Autour vs Clew
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Autour
This app provides blind users with an enhanced awareness of their surroundings through spatialized audio. It highlights points of interest, offering additional details upon request, unlike traditional turn-by-turn navigation systems.
- Eyes-free environmental awareness
- Spatialized audio for points of interest
- On-demand detailed information
- Alternative to turn-by-turn navigation
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Autour is an eyes-free mobile system designed to give blind users a better sense of their surroundings. Although other systems emphasize navigation from one specific location to another, typically accomplished by explicit turn-by-turn instructions, Autour uses spatialized audio to reveal the kind of information that visual cues such as neon signs provide to sighted users. Once users notice a point of interest, additional details are available on demand. For a demonstration video please visit our website at : http://autour.mcgill.ca/en/ Requires iPhone 4S or later.
Clew
This app uses augmented reality to help visually impaired individuals navigate indoor spaces. Users can record custom routes and share them with others, making unfamiliar environments more accessible.
- AR indoor navigation
- Record custom routes
- Share routes with others
- Accessible for visually impaired users
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Clew is an AR indoor navigation app that allows visually impaired or blind users to record, share, and navigate routes in indoor environments.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Autour at 5.0 against Clew's 4.0. Autour also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.2). Clew's advantage is ratings volume (27 vs 4). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Autour holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clew has 27 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Autour's written reviews are positive against 67% of Clew's.
Autour ships an update every 6 weeks, Clew every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Autour | Clew |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 4.0 (27 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 27 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (McGill University) | Paul Ruvolo |
Customer experience
Autour
Clew
In-app purchases
Autour
No in-app purchases
Clew
No in-app purchases
