# Altimeter for Aviators — Pure Pressure Altimeter

> Pressure-based altimeter for aviation training and wrist-based altitude tracking. (iPhone/iPad app by STEARsoft.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/altimeter-for-aviators/id1463100680 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [STEARsoft](https://appshunter.io/developer/373730382)
- Category: Navigation, Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 572 App Store ratings · 42 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 2 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2019-05-13
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/altimeter-for-aviators/id1463100680/reviews.md

## What is Altimeter for Aviators?

If you want a 'real' Altimeter, look no further.  No GPS used here.

Learn how a real pressure Altimeter works such as you would find in an aircraft.  Altimeter for Aviators is primarily designed as an Apple Watch application, although it does also work on iPhones or iPads that have a barometer.  Provided your watch has a Barometer it will even run stand-alone (no iPhone needed).

Student and instructor pilots will find this App to be a valuable training tool, while those knowing how to use an altimeter will enjoy having it on their wrist.

To obtain your Altitude (height above sea level):
Set the 'pressure setting' to the current air pressure at sea level.  Weather forecasts often give this (eg the BBC Weather App includes pressure in mb).  You can also obtain the pressure from weather pressure charts or from METAR reports from airports (eg Q1017).  In aviation speak, this is known as the QNH.  Set the pressure setting by rotating the 'crown' on your watch.  You can then 'Lock' this setting so you don't accidentally change it by doing a long-press and choosing 'Lock'.  Alternatively, if you know the altitude of the point that you are currently at, you can rotate the watch crown until the Altimeter reads the correct altitude.

To obtain your height above a certain location:
Set the 'station' pressure for that location (the actual air pressure at that very point). Aviation language calls this pressure setting QFE. If you are at that location, you can just rotate the crown of the watch until the Altimeter reads zero. As a short-cut you can alternatively long-press and then pick "Zero (QFE)".

To obtain your Flight Level (FL):
Another setting that pilots use is the standard setting of 1013.25mb.  This is used above 3000ft roughly and instead of giving you an accurate 'Altitude' gives you what is known as a 'Flight level'.  Long-press and select the "STP (FL)" option as a short cut (FL stands for Flight Level.  STP stands for 'Standard Temperature and Pressure').

If you are more familiar with inches of mercury (inHg) rather than hectapascals (hPa) or millibars (mb) then toggle this with the 'Units' menu item.  Note that mb and hPa are the same unit.

ACCURACY WARNING:
Your watch (or iPhone) pressure sensing device has not been calibrated in the same way that the expensive altimeters found in aircraft have been.  Your electronic device also has more points of failure and error being miniature and electrically based so this App in no way replaces or can be used for actual flying.  If you run this App side by side on two different iOS devices, the chances are they'll give you slightly different altitudes.  Further, if you're a pilot the pressure in your cockpit is unlikely to be as accurate as the location of the static pitot tube and will be susceptible to changes due to air vents being opened, doors with gaps, any climate control, your speed and any vibration.

WEATHER WARNING:
Air pressure changes throughout the day can cause readings to drift by up to 1 foot per minute, so keep the pressure-setting up-to-date by updating it whenever you can; as you get to any locations of known altitude or hourly if receiving pressure settings in some other way.

Colours:
Altimeter for Aviators shows how recent the altitude was calculated (it's not constant)
White = updated in the last 10 seconds
Yellow = updated between 10 and 60 seconds ago.
Pink = updated between 1 and 10 minutes ago.
Dark Red = updated more than 10 minutes ago.

Altitude units:
The long hand shows 100s of feet. The short hand 1000s of feet. The inward pointing edge arrow shows 10000s of feet. The barber pole (stripe at the bottom) is visible below 10000 feet, so if it disappears you are at risk of Hypoxia.

## Key features

- Pressure altimeter functionality
- Standalone Apple Watch app
- Calculates altitude above sea level
- Calculates height above a specific location (QFE)
- Calculates Flight Level (FL) using standard pressure
- Supports pressure units (inHg, hPa, mb)

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VSI | $1.99 | one-time |
| Altitude Units | $1.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Altimeter for Aviators?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
- ✈️ Accurate altimeter representation for pilots
- ⌚ Works well on Apple Watch
- 🎯 Easy pressure setting adjustment like real cockpit
- 📱 No GPS required for operation
- 🔧 Responsive developer support
- 🎓 Great educational tool for student pilots
- 🎨 Clear aviation-style gauges

**Cons**

- 🐛 App crashes or stops working after iOS updates
- 📵 Inconsistent performance across Watch models
- 🔴 Watch display shows red/no reading on some devices
- 📧 Poor developer communication and contact options
- 💰 Upsell prompts not clearly disclosed
- 🖼️ Blurry graphics on Watch app
- ⚠️ Limited refresh rate (1Hz) for VSI
- 🔒 Restore purchase function doesn't work properly

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App hangs on 'reading pressure' with Apple Watch 8
- Watch complication shows dashed line instead of altitude
- Incompatibility with iOS 17.4
- Watch app graphics fuzzy/wrong resolution
- Crown and long press unresponsive on Watch 8
- Pressure setting increments in millibar even when units changed
- Watch only displays millibars, can't change to inHg
- Inaccurate altitude readings on some Watch models (off by 200 feet)
- Developer contact form returns error messages

**Most requested features**

- CarPlay integration and widget support
- Night mode with dark theme
- Keep screen on while flying option
- Drum pointer altimeter display option
- Digital altitude readout option
- Faster refresh rate for VSI
- Automatic local pressure lookup via GPS
- Additional instruments (airspeed, G-meter)
- Toggle to disable pressure swipe adjustment
- Complication display improvements
- Better altitude flag deadband transition

## Recent user reviews (10 of 42)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/altimeter-for-aviators/id1463100680/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Not useful locked out

*2026-05-31*

Needs to cancel auto lock feature on phone to be useful

### 5/5 — Simple and precise

*2026-05-18, version 2.6*

Brilliant app, I downloaded it and was worried it worked off gps altitude, but with my phone in flight mode it was still working continuously and accurately. 
I need to find out how to disable the screen going dark after about 30 seconds, but I’m sure that’s me not knowing my own phone settings as opposed to the app. 
Fantastic!

### 4/5 — 10 foot purchase breaks it

*2026-04-26*

I purchased the 10 foot altitude increment to see if it gives any more resolution. It breaks the app. Don’t taste the $2.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the heads up and for reaching out. I think you meant “waste” rather than “taste”. Are you able to explain what you mean by “breaks”? I am not aware of any problems…

### 4/5 — Excellent, almost

*2026-04-17*

This is by far the nicest altimeter App I’ve tested in the App Store. Easy operation and very clear aviation style guages. However it’s missing one key feature, Apple CarPlay integration. In today’s world our phones are not hanging on our dashboards anymore. We have huge LCD dashboards that support CarPlay Widgits. This App is a natural for use as a Widgit. PLEASE cosider updating it. Thanks !!

**Developer response:** Thank you for the very kind feedback and for this great idea. Thank you also for suggesting this idea through my website.  I agree that it would be nice to get more on the large Car Play screen.  Unfortunately Car Play Apps are restricted to only a few specific categories. There are 7 categories and an Altimeter does not fit any of them or the templates that Apps must conform to. So for the moment I’m not able to oblige.  Safe driving. Marcus

### 5/5 — Great App!

*2026-02-17*

Super simple to use. Also great for student pilots learning how the altimeter works. While it’s not so much designed for this, it has helped me understand how flying into different pressure systems impacts altimeter readings simply by adjusting the pressure settings. Thanks!

**Developer response:** Thank you for the kind feedback. Particularly nice to hear it’s a good aid for students (which is what I was when I built the App).  Safe flying. Marcus

### 2/5 — Restore Purchase Option Doesn’t Work

*2025-10-19*

The title says it all.  Attempted to contact the developer but their that function only returns an error message, even when I enter the word, altimeter, to prove I’m not a bot.   So I guess I’ll agree with the reviewer who said app support not so good.

**Developer response:** Dear Roberto,
Thank you for getting in touch. Apologies for the very slow reply and for the frustrations.
The ‘bot test’ was too strict and wanted a capital A. I’ve fixed that now (thank you again for the heads-up”), so it also accepts lower-case.
For restoring purchases, you shouldn’t have to do it, but deleting the app on both phone and watch and then reinstalling it will get the restore purchase working. Changing phone or changing watch seems to sometimes mess up the stored settings with automatically transferred data not quite working. Is this the scenario you’re in?  Fully deleting the app seems to reset the data enough to get it working again (after reinstalling obviously).

### 2/5 — This app would be great as a widget

*2025-09-19*

This app would be great as a widget on the iPhone iPad, and would be great as a CarPlay app and widget which is what I am needing. Sadly it isn’t. I will wait till widget and CarPlay is supported to download again.

### 4/5 — Works with Watch SE, doesn’t work with Watch 8

*2025-02-10, version 2.6*

It works with my Watch SE but doesn’t work with my Watch 8. It just asks me to allow on install. When I click “allow” it hangs on “reading pressure”. Strange.

### 5/5 — The App needs night mode

*2025-01-28*

I love this app, works great especially VSI on highest resolution scale. I find this extremely useful when driving through mountainous terrain. 

When I turn on the app it is red because of old data, this needs to be a night vision option, red is preferred but blue or green might work at night as well also the header and footer need to be black at night. 

The white text and screen destroy my night vision.

Also the deadband on the altitude flag needs to be tightened up. Zero meter screen and 1000 meter screen are the same on highest resolution screen (1m), Flag needs to transition between 995 m and 999 meter with flag half visible during transition.

**Developer response:** Thank you very much for this valuable feedback and the good ideas. Thank you also for sharing these directly on the Altimeter for Aviators website. Safe driving. It sounds very exciting :)

### 3/5 — Remain open

*2024-06-02*

Guys, is there away to keep to app open and active while I’m flying so I don’t have to open it when my screen locks? 
Thanks

**Developer response:** Yes, for an iPhone, under the SHOW section of options screen switch on “Keep screen on”.  The watch is not so easy, but there are details in the tips screen of the watch app.
Thank you for your interest.
Safe flying,
Marcus

## Frequently asked questions about Altimeter for Aviators

### What does the Altimeter for Aviators app do?

This app functions as a pure pressure altimeter, mimicking the altimeters found in aircraft. It uses your device's built-in barometer to calculate your altitude above sea level, your height above a specific location (QFE), and your Flight Level (FL) using standard atmospheric pressure settings. It's designed as a training tool for pilots and an informational tool for aviation enthusiasts.

### How do I get altitude readings with this app?

To get your altitude above sea level (QNH), you need to set the current air pressure at sea level. This can be found in weather forecasts or METAR reports. You can then adjust the pressure setting using your watch's crown. For height above a specific location (QFE), you can set the station pressure for that point or zero the altimeter if you are at that location. For Flight Level (FL), you can select the standard pressure setting of 1013.25mb.

### Is this app accurate enough for actual flying?

No, this app is not accurate enough for actual flying and should not be used as a replacement for certified aircraft altimeters. The pressure sensing devices in consumer electronics like watches and iPhones are not calibrated to the same standards as aviation-grade instruments and are susceptible to various sources of error and failure.

### What devices is Altimeter for Aviators compatible with?

The app is primarily designed for Apple Watch and can run standalone if your watch has a barometer. It also works on iPhones and iPads that are equipped with a barometer. Devices without a barometer will not be able to use the pressure altimeter functionality.

### Can I change the units of measurement?

Yes, you can toggle between inches of mercury (inHg) and hectopascals (hPa) or millibars (mb) using the 'Units' menu item. Note that millibars (mb) and hectopascals (hPa) represent the same unit of pressure measurement.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.6 — 2024-05-10

In the iPhone/iPad App, a new option to keep the screen on (prevent automatic screen lock).  See the 'Opt' screen.
In the Watch App, scroll right to see instructions for something similar in the Tips screen.

### 2.5.2 — 2024-05-07

Further fixes and improved user experience relating to the iOS 17.4 barometer permission issues.

### 2.5.1 — 2024-05-05

Further fixes for the iOS 17.4 barometer permission issues.
Undid version 2.5 locking of STP and Zero buttons that caused confusion.  Now back as it was before.

### 2.5 — 2024-03-25

Fixes for iOS 17.4 and Watch OS10.4 issues.
New options on Watch (screen lock and 1mb increments)
Lock on iPad/iPhone App also locks STP and Zero buttons.

### 2.4.1 — 2022-12-26

Bug fix for unresponsive crown on Series 7+ watches

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## More apps by STEARsoft

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All apps by STEARsoft: https://appshunter.io/developer/373730382

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-24.*