SIMO vs BASIC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SIMO
This app provides a MATLAB development environment for iOS devices, allowing users to create, edit, and run MATLAB code locally. It's designed for beginners and students learning MATLAB basics, offering essential syntax and functions without requiring an internet connection.
- MATLAB interpreter for beginners
- Create, edit, and run MATLAB code
- 100% on-device computation
- Offline functionality
- Real-time plot rendering
- Command console with syntax highlighting
- File manager with iCloud sync
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~~~~~~~~~ Check out our FREE app Console, which is powered by SIMO's MATLAB interpreter. If you find Console useful, SIMO is definitely suitable for you. ~~~~~~~~~ SIMO is a feature-rich development environment for MATLAB. We have developed a version of MATLAB interpreter that works for commonly used language syntax and functions for beginners. [+] Who will find SIMO useful? - Students learning the basics of MATLAB. - Course instructors of fundamental MATLAB courses. - Individuals whose works do not depend on specialised toolboxes and advanced language syntax. [+] What is SIMO? - It is an integrated environment for running MATLAB. - It allows you to create, edit, and run MATLAB code on iOS devices. - Unlike other apps that compute on the cloud, it performs computation entirely locally on device. No internet connection is needed. You don't miss a single app feature even if you are offline. [+] What SIMO cannot do? - It does not completely replace MATLAB, as it has only a subset of built-in functions of MATLAB. - It does not support advanced features such as Simulink or creating user-interface. [+] One app, all platforms - You will be amazed at how much work you can do on a phone. The app is designed to let you work effectively on smaller screens. - The iPad app features a split-screen layout. You can enjoy a full-screen workspace, or work on two views simultaneously. - The iPad app runs on Macs with Apple silicon as well. Buy one app and it works on all of the platforms. [+] MATLAB interpreter - The interpreter works for language syntax that is essential to survive a MATLAB course. It provides the most commonly used built-in functions for learners. - The interpreter computes on your device locally. You will not miss a single app feature even if you go completely offline. - SIMO comes with a full set of documentation and user guides. It is offline accessible and full-text searchable. [+] Visualization tool - Plots are rendered in real-time using your device's computing power. Operations such as updating line attributes, pan and zoom are fast and responsive. - Stunning 3D plots are rendered by the device's GPU in real-time. Pan, zoom or rotate with multi-touch gestures, trackpad or keyboard shortcuts. - Plot attributes are editable through the built-in user-interface. You can improvise with different styles without entering a single line of code. [+] Command console - You can run one or many lines of code from the command console. It supports line numbering, auto-intent and syntax highlighting. - Search over thousand lines of output data instantly. You'll never get overwhelmed by the sea of numbers. - Output data are formatted automatically to fit the screen size or app window. Data are always neatly presented however you resize the app. [+] File manager - Files can be synced across all of your iCloud Drive enabled devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac). Or, you can store them locally on device. - Tons of files buried in tons of folders? No worries. The search feature will help you find an item instantly. - It has features you expect from a useful file manager. Add, copy, delete, duplicate, move, rename, sort and more. [+] Script editor - It has features you expect from a useful script editor. Syntax highlight, auto-indent, line numbers and more. - Search for a word in a script. Replace occurrences with another word. - Recent items are accessible from your finger tip. It is a useful feature for navigating through frequently accessed files.
BASIC
Learn and experiment with the classic BASIC programming language. This app provides a user-friendly environment to write, run, and understand BASIC code, complete with examples for various commands and functions. Ideal for beginners and those nostalgic for early computing.
- BASIC code interpreter
- Interactive programming environment
- Examples for PRINT, INPUT, IF/THEN
- FOR/NEXT loops and GOTO/GOSUB
- Graphics commands (TEXT, CIRCLE, RECT, LINE)
- Mathematical functions
- SOUND and DELAY commands
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BASIC: THE FEELING OF THE GOOD OLD TIMES ! 10 INPUT A 20 B = SIN(A) 30 PRINT "ANSWER: ", B 40 END BASIC USER'S GUIDE: • PRINT 10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD !" 20 END • INPUT 10 INPUT “A=”, A 20 PRINT A 30 END • IF...THEN... Number Comparison: 10 INPUT A 20 IF A>90 THEN B=“A” 30 PRINT B 40 END Conditional Operators: > greater than < less than >= greater than or equal to => equal to or greater than <= less than or equal to =< equal to or less than = equal to == equal to <> not equal to != not equal to THEN can be followed by GOTO, GOSUB, INPUT, PRINT. String Comparison: 10 INPUT A 20 IF A=“TOM” THEN PRINT “BOY” 30 END Conditional Operators: = is == is <> is not != is not • FOR...NEXT... 10 FOR I=1 TO 4 STEP 2 20 PRINT “HELLO”, I 30 NEXT I 40 END STEP specifies the counter increment for each loop. If STEP doesn’t exit, the default increment is 1. FOR...NEXT... loop can be nested. 10 FOR I=1 TO 5 20 FOR J=1 TO 4 30 PRINT I, J 40 NEXT J 50 NEXT I 60 END • GOTO 10 ... 20 ... 30 ... 40 GOTO 10 50 ... • GOSUB 10 PRINT “H” 20 GOSUB 100 30 PRINT “L” 40 END 100 PRINT “A” 110 RETURN • SOUND 10 SOUND C, M, 0.5 The line 10 plays Middle C piano note for 0.5 seconds. Note: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B Pitch Range: L (low), M (middle), H (high) Lasting Time: specifies how long a note lasts. C, D, E, F, G, A, B can also be labeled as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. (C# as 1#). • TEXT 10 TEXT “HELLO”, x, y, size (x,y): position of the string “HELLO”. • CIRCLE 10 CIRCLE x, y, radius (x,y): the center of the circle. • RECTANGLE 10 RECT x, y, width, height (x,y): top-left point of the rectangle. • LINE 10 LINE x1, y1, x2, y2 (x1,y1): the starting point of the line. (x2,y2): the ending point of the line. • POINT 10 POINT x, y (x,y): the position of the point. • CLR: clear the edit window. • CLS: clear the graph window. • DELAY 10 DELAY 0.5 0.5:lasting time in seconds This function is used to suspend execution of a program for a particular time. • CURVE 10 CURVE x, y, radius, 0, PI 0: starting angle PI: ending angle The curve draws clockwise with center (x,y). • Mathematical Functions: SIN(X), COS(X), TAN(X), COT(X), ASIN(X), ACOS(X), ATAN(X), SINH(X), COSH(X), TANH(X), ASINH(X), ACOSH(X), ATANH(X). SQR(X): square root of x. ABS(X): absolute value of x. FCT(X): x factorial. LOG(X): natural logarithm of x. LOG10(X): base-10 logarithm of x. LOG2(X) :base-2 logarithm of x. EXP(X): base-e exponential of x. ERF(X): the error function of x. ERFC(X): the complementary error function of x. ROUND(X) :integral nearest to x. CEIL(X): the smallest integral that is not less than x. FLOOR(X): the largest integral that is not greater than x. TGAMMA(X): the gamma function of x. LGAMMA(X): the natural logarithm of the absolute value of the gamma function of x. • Reserved Variables: INKEY : once a key is pressed, the value of INKEY changes. RND : a random number. PI : π • Some Tips: 1. Undo & Redo typing on iPhone with a shake. 2. Copy an Emoji or some character from other places (like Notes), then paste them on the edit window. 3. Exponentiation is expressed as X^Y.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SIMO at 4.2 against BASIC's 2.7. SIMO also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 25%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). BASIC's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
SIMO costs $4.99 and BASIC $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SIMO holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SIMO has 55 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of SIMO's written reviews are positive against 25% of BASIC's.
SIMO ships an update every 3 weeks, BASIC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SIMO | BASIC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (55 ratings) — better | 2.7 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 58.1% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 55 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Numerical Co. | 俊 姜 |
Customer experience
SIMO
BASIC
In-app purchases
SIMO
No in-app purchases
BASIC
No in-app purchases









