Socratic
Google · Leaning
Socratic was a free AI homework app from Google that read a photo of a question and returned step-by-step explanations, videos, and study resources across math, science, and history.
About Socratic
What Is Socratic
Socratic is a learning app Google built to help students work through homework they get stuck on. You point your camera at a question, or type it or say it out loud, and the app reads the problem, works out which concept it covers, and pulls together explanations, videos, and study cards that walk you toward the answer. It leaned on the idea behind the Socratic method: guide the student toward understanding rather than just handing over the result.
The tool was never meant to write your essay for you. It answered the kind of question you'd raise your hand for in class, across algebra, geometry, chemistry, biology, physics, and history, among others. Each answer came tied to sources the app trusted, so a claim about a formula or a date pointed back to where it came from instead of standing on its own.
One thing to fix up front: the standalone app is gone. Google retired it in October 2024 and folded its homework features into Google Lens and Google Search. If you search for the old download today, you won't find it. The help you used to get now lives inside tools you probably already have, which is worth knowing before you go hunting for an APK.
Getting Started
- Open the Google app or Google Lens on your phone, since the standalone Socratic app is no longer on the App Store or Google Play.
- Point your camera at the homework question, or upload a screenshot of it.
- Let Lens read the image and surface a step-by-step explainer, related videos, and web results for that topic.
- Ask a follow-up in plain language if the first result doesn't clear things up.
- Save or share the explanation, then try the next problem on your own to check the concept stuck.
Product Information
A quick look at Socratic's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- Middle and high school students
- College students in intro courses
- Parents helping with homework
Tasks
- Cracking a math problem
- Checking a science concept
- Reviewing before a test
Scenarios
- Late-night homework sessions
- Working through a problem set
- Catching up on a missed class
Key features
Photo, Voice, and Text Input
You could approach Socratic three different ways: snap a photo of the question, say it out loud, or type it in. The photo route relied on OCR to read handwriting and printed text, which is what let the app handle a worksheet you couldn't be bothered to retype.
Step-by-Step Explanations
Rather than dump an answer, Socratic broke a problem into the steps that got there. Seeing the reasoning mattered more than the result, because it's the reasoning a student can reuse on the next question. Math problems came with worked equations and, for some, a graph.
Curated Videos and Study Cards
Every question pulled in material the team vetted with educators: short explainer videos, definitions, worked examples, and Q&A cards. The mix meant a student who didn't follow one explanation could try a video instead of giving up.
Concept Detection Across Subjects
The app's core trick was figuring out which concept a question tested, not just matching it to a similar problem. That's what let one tool cover algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, statistics, biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, psychology, and history without feeling like a dozen crowded apps.
Math Solver and Graphs
For equations, Socratic added a solver that worked like a photo math solver: it showed the steps and plotted the result. It handled the range from pre-algebra through calculus, which covered most of what a high school or early college student ran into.
Free Access With No Ads
The app was free to use and carried no ads, which set it apart from the crowd of homework helpers that gated answers behind a subscription. Anyone with a phone could use it, which fit the original goal of widening access to tutoring.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Covered a wide spread of subjects, so one app handled math, science, and history instead of three separate downloads.
- Photo input meant you could work from a worksheet as-is, without retyping equations into a search bar.
- Step-by-step explanations and curated videos pushed toward understanding, not just a copied answer.
- It was free and ad-free, with no subscription wall in front of the help.
Cons
- The standalone app was discontinued in October 2024, so you can no longer download it from the App Store or Google Play.
- Its features now live inside Google Lens and Search, which means the homework help is less focused than a dedicated study app.
- It explained concepts and pointed to resources, so it worked best as a study aid rather than a replacement for actually learning the material.
- There was no public API, so it couldn't be built into a school's own tools or a developer workflow.
Frequently asked questions
Socratic by Google was a free AI homework app that read a photo of a question and returned step-by-step explanations, videos, and study resources across math, science, and history. Google retired the standalone app in October 2024 and moved its features into Google Lens and Search.
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