Pocket ICU vs ABGs NOW!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket ICU
This app offers concise critical care guidance written by attending physicians. It covers diagnosis, treatment, and management across various subspecialties, with detailed images and decision support algorithms. Advanced search and bookmarking features allow for quick information retrieval.
- Concise guidance from attending physicians
- Diagnosis, treatment, and management details
- Subspecialty coverage
- Detailed images and algorithms
- Pharmacological data and formulas
- Advanced full-text search
- Bookmarking and note-taking
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New topics address bioweapons, disaster preparedness and critical care challenges of an air-transmissible, pandemic-causing pathogens like COVID-19. POCKET ICU FEATURES • Concise guidance written by attending physicians for everyone in critical care • Entries with diagnosis, treatment, and management details • Coverage of subspecialty areas including pediatric, neuro, cardiac, transplant, burn, and more • Detailed images, figures, and decision support algorithms • Overview of Statistics and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) • Helpful appendices provide pharmacological data, respiratory formulas, and cardiopulmonary relationships • Advanced Full Text Search helps find topics quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries • Highlighting and note-taking MORE ABOUT POCKET ICU With content from the highly regarded Pocket Notebook series, Pocket ICU provides users with an essential tool for quickly locating information from every subspecialty area of critical care. Entries have been written by attending physicians and are presented in brief but broad format so anyone in an ICU setting can quickly find answers and save time. This powerful resource can be downloaded to your smartphone and tablet and is great for preparing for rounds or consulting expert recommendations while on the ICU floor. Editors: Gyorgy Frendl, MD, PhD; Avery Tung, MD Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Powered by: Unbound Medicine
ABGs NOW!
Master arterial blood gas interpretation with this interactive tool. It offers a calculator for quick answers, practice sessions with hints, and a challenge mode to test your skills. Detailed analysis is provided for any errors, making learning engaging.
- ABG Calculator
- Practice Mode with Hints
- Challenge Mode
- Detailed Analysis
- Knowledge Strengthening
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ABGs NOW!™ is a fun, engaging way for both students and professionals to strengthen their knowledge of arterial blood gases. The app features a calculator, providing immediate answers, a practice mode that guides the learner with helpful hints, and a challenge mode where learners can put their ABG skills to the test. Both practice and challenge modes provide detailed analysis for any missed interpretations. ABGs NOW!™ offers an entertaining way to learn a challenging topic.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pocket ICU at Free against ABGs NOW!'s $0.99. Pocket ICU also leads on ratings volume (317 vs 2). ABGs NOW!'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On ads 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
Pocket ICU is free to download; ABGs NOW! costs $0.99 up front. Pocket ICU sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. ABGs NOW! asks for nothing beyond the download.
ABGs NOW! holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket ICU has 317 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pocket ICU ships an update every 5 months, ABGs NOW! every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.
| Parameter | Pocket ICU | ABGs NOW! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (317 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 317 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 161 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Unbound Medicine, Inc. | Bytewise Studios, LLC |
Customer experience
Pocket ICU
ABGs NOW!
Bugs and requests
Pocket ICU
Reported bugs
2 issues- No information loads after purchase
- Issues with download/access
ABGs NOW!
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pocket ICU
- Pocket ICU2 variants$69.99
- Pocket ICU 2023$69.99
ABGs NOW!
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket ICU free?
Is ABGs NOW! free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket ICU or ABGs NOW!?
Do Pocket ICU or ABGs NOW! have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket ICU or ABGs NOW!?
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