The shift from desktop to mobile study has accelerated. Most postgraduate trainees now do the majority of their question bank practice on their phones — between patients, during commutes, and on night shifts. The quality of the mobile experience is no longer a secondary consideration; it determines whether you actually use the platform.
What makes a good medical exam app
Native app vs responsive website. A native iOS or Android app loads faster, supports offline access, and provides a smoother interface than a website rendered in a mobile browser. Responsive websites work but they do not work as well — pinch-to-zoom, slow loading, and no offline access reduce usability.
Offline access. Hospital Wi-Fi is unreliable. Underground commutes have no signal. An app that requires an internet connection for every question is useless in the situations where most revision happens.
Touch-optimised interface. Option cards that are easy to tap on a phone screen, clear text sizing, and haptic feedback on submission all improve the mobile experience.
Progress syncing. Start a quiz on your phone during a commute, continue on your laptop at home. Your progress should sync automatically across devices.
The apps
iatroX offers native iOS and Android apps covering every exam on the platform — SCE (all 13 specialties), MRCPCH, MRCPsych, FRCA, MRCP, MRCGP, PLAB, MRCEM, GPhC, ORE, MFDS, NDEB, RACP, USMLE, and the specialist diplomas. Offline question caching, progress syncing, adaptive learning, and touch-optimised quiz interface. £29 per month or £99 per year.
Pastest offers a mobile app for its supported exams. Functional but without adaptive learning or offline caching.
AMBOSS has an excellent mobile app with a strong knowledge library. Primarily US and European content — limited UK postgraduate exam coverage.
BMJ OnExamination has a mobile-responsive interface but not a dedicated native app.
StudyPRN does not offer a native mobile app. Access is through the mobile browser.
SPMM does not offer a native mobile app.
Anaesthesia UK does not offer a native mobile app.
The breadth factor
Most exam apps cover one or two exams. If you need MRCP now and an SCE in three years, you would typically need two different apps. iatroX covers the entire exam pathway in a single app — from PLAB through MRCP to SCE and beyond. One app, one login, one subscription, one set of performance data that accumulates across your career.
Recommendation
For the broadest coverage, best mobile experience, and strongest adaptive features across UK, US, Canadian, and Australian exams, iatroX is the top choice. For US-focused exam preparation, AMBOSS and UWorld remain strong. For candidates with institutional access, Pastest and BMJ OnExamination are worth using as supplementary resources.