Top Problems With Periodic Table Apps in 2026

We analyzed 209 negative reviews from the top 5 Periodic Table apps on the App Store. Here's what users hate most.

209
Reviews Analyzed
10
Issues Found
78/100
Opportunity Score

Top User Complaints

Ranked by frequency — how often each complaint appears in negative reviews.

#1: Constant crashing and instability

High Severity

42% of negative reviews mention this issue.

"It crashes constantly and only sometimes that can be fixed by completely restarting your iPad."
"The HUGE issue here is the app crashes everytime. Yes everytime."

#2: Excessive file size (1.7GB+)

High Severity

18% of negative reviews mention this issue.

"HUGE: 1.7GB for high resolution images that rotate that could be just as easily shown in 1-4 images each (instead of the 40+ of each object)."
"It required several"

#3: Editorialized/unprofessional content instead of factual information

Medium Severity

22% of negative reviews mention this issue.

"It's very pretty, but the additional information tabs are filled with one persons idiotic politics and personal views on each element."
"The descriptions themselves are too spare, and are wri"

#4: Poor value for price ($9-$14)

Medium Severity

16% of negative reviews mention this issue.

"COSTLY: $9 for information that is easily obtained anywhere, like Wikipedia (or WolframAlpha which i"
"It's definitely not worth $14."

#5: Limited interactivity and shallow content

Medium Severity

15% of negative reviews mention this issue.

"Can't manipulate graphical images of elements"
"The "interactivity" consists of being able to rotate the photographed objects horizontally. Fun the first few times, boring afte"

#6: Outdated display/retina support issues

Low Severity

8% of negative reviews mention this issue.

"The text in this app appears to have been pre-rendered for the lower-resolution screens of the original iPad and the iPad 2. When displayed on the iPad 3, it looks fuzzy."
"No updates in 2 years. No support for retina display."

UX Pain Points

Design and usability issues driving negative reviews.

Cluttered main periodic table view

Users find the main table hard to read with tiny thumbnails and difficult-to-see element numbers

"The main periodic table is too busy and hard to read. The tiny thumbnail pics are pretty useless at that scale and the element numbers are very difficult"

Scientific information buried in poor UI layout

Important data like electron configuration is crammed into small text areas while visuals dominate

"The actual scientific information like electron configuration, melting points etc is crammed into a slim window of small text to the right."

Forced landscape orientation incompatible with iPad stands

App only works in landscape mode but 180 degrees out of phase with iPad accessories

"It doesn't rotate. In fact, it's only operative in landscape mode, but 180 degrees out of phase with the apple iPad cover/stand - p"

Content truncation and incomplete text

Text cut off mid-sentence and paragraphs incomplete due to poor rendering

"Some of the intro chapter material is truncated from the screen, making the paragraphs incomplete."

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