# EarthViewer — user reviews

> 124 indexed App Store user reviews of EarthViewer by Howard Hughes Medical Institute, rated 4.40/5 from 101 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earthviewer/id590208430/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earthviewer/id590208430.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 74 · 4★ 13 · 3★ 2 · 2★ 4 · 1★ 8

## What do users think of EarthViewer?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🌍 Comprehensive geological history visualization from 4.6 billion years ago to present
- 📚 Excellent educational resource for teachers and students
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive interface design
- 🆓 Free app with extensive features and data
- 🔄 Smooth continental drift animation and timeline controls
- 📊 Integrated charts showing temperature, CO2, and oxygen levels
- 🎯 Multiple overlay layers for geological events and fossil discoveries
- 🌐 Interactive globe with zoom and pan capabilities
- 💡 Innovative approach to presenting complex geological concepts
- 🏫 Highly valued by geologists and educators for classroom use

**Cons**

- 🚫 Cannot exit app without force-closing or restarting device
- 🐛 App freezes when switching between map projections
- 📱 Not optimized for newer iOS versions
- 🌏 Australia appears incorrectly in ancient Earth viewer
- 🔲 Grid coordinates (lat/lon) not displaying properly
- 👁️ Globe transparency and distorted image issues on newer devices
- ⏱️ Timeline controls difficult to manipulate smoothly
- 🗺️ Limited detail for recent geological periods (Pleistocene ice ages)
- 🎮 Lacks smooth morphing transitions between time periods
- ❌ No 2D map option for easier continent tracking

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App cannot be closed normally - requires force quit or device restart
- App freezes when switching from flat map to globe view
- Australia appears in incorrect locations in ancient Earth viewer
- Grid coordinates (latitude/longitude) not displaying
- Globe transparency and image distortion on iPad
- Geological Events toggle switch not functioning
- Incompatible with iOS 13 and newer versions
- Timeline scrolling limited when entire era not visible
- App won't open or close on some devices
- Hadean Epoch atmosphere incorrectly shown as blue
- Antarctica appearance inconsistent between Paleo and Ice Age views
- Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum information inaccurate

**Most requested features**

- Add Pangea Proxima/Pangea Ultima supercontinent visualization
- Add Kenorland supercontinent (2500 Mya)
- Include future Earth continental drift predictions (0-250 million years)
- Add Pleistocene ice age details with smaller time increments
- Include ground-level view of Earth with animals and landscapes
- Add 2D map projection option (Plate Carree, Mollweide)
- Add period/stage names to timeline
- Implement location services to show current user location
- Add search functionality for extinct species
- Increase zoom capability for detailed regional analysis
- Add plate tectonics layer with labeled plates and spreading zones
- Include other planets and solar system formation
- Add French language support
- Add smooth video-like morphing between time periods
- Fixed rotation axis option for Earth
- Multiple globe views from different vantage points

## Newest reviews (15 of 124)

### 2/5 — Disingenuous App

*2026-06-30, version 2.1*

This app is fairly accurate up until about the last hundred years when the images become completely disingenuous

If you go back to the Cambrian and Ordovician, the app shows planetary temperatures to be 25 to 30°C with 5000 ppm CO2. But fast-forward to the last hundred years and the CO2 content of the atmosphere shows 380-400 ppm and mean temp of 15.5 (half that of the Ordovician.
 
But the Ordovician image is bluish green and very “cool” an appearance.  The so-called Anthropocene is red and orange like the Earth is extremely hot despite the fact that it’s half the temperature observed 450 million years ago and 1/10 the concentration of CO2

As a professional earth scientist, this makes me want to vomit. It’s so blatantly obvious what this app is trying to do. At least be more scientific and accurate in your presentation.

### 4/5 — Good

*2026-05-12, version 2.1*

I have the desktop I went to go look at rodina but it didn't line up I went past rodina and that Correlated to before rodina

### 2/5 — I love this app

*2025-01-07, version 2.1*

I’ve shown it to many many people since I first discovered it.  However what happened to the latest version? The grid no longer shows lat/lon at the chosen age, the globe is transparent and there are some other distorted images across everything. This is on a new ipad and I can send clips if it helps.

### 4/5 — pleasepleaseplease add Pangea proxima or Auriga plzplz

*2024-06-11, version 2.1*

Good game, I’ve been usung it so much recently, but can you please add Pangea proxima😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭I need it desperately bc you haven’t added it in months😔😥please add Pangea ultimate sooner or later

### 4/5 — Fix ancient earth.

*2024-02-17, version 2.1*

I want to add the period names to the ancient earth but I really like it anyway 2.&3. Is make a better ancient earth just like Algol and add borders to ancient earth

### 4/5 — Please more planet’s please and also from Big Bang to today

*2022-09-18, version 2.1*

Good but I need more than earth like Mars Venus Mercury Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Moon Sun and we need nore then that like from Big Bang to today to new universe has created by god so

### 4/5 — Bug

*2022-03-19, version 2.1*

It’s good but there’s a bug where Australia appears somewhere near the North Pole around 1 billion years ago

### 5/5 — Uptade alert

*2022-01-29, version 2.1*

For an update, can we have the FUTIRE EARTH? Please?

### 5/5 — Excelente

*2021-09-27, version 2.1*

O melhor jogo do universo!!! 😍 obrigado quem leu o meu título

### 4/5 — CN I SEE THE WORLS 1BYFN

*2021-01-24, version 2.1*

I WOULD alike to see a breakup of Pangea Ultima and Gondwana ultima Pannotia ultima and Rodinia ultama

### 5/5 — Pangea Ultima

*2020-12-27, version 2.1*

Add an update where..
You can see the tectonic plate movements in the future, I mean by: continental drift in the future, like, Afro Eurasia, Afro-Eurastralasia, Amasia, Pangea Proxima/Ultima.
If you see this, please listen to me.

### 5/5 — Fantastic educational app

*2020-10-28, version 2.1*

Wow wow wow!

### 5/5 — For any of those who ask for the future, this is just for educational purposes.

*2020-10-22, version 2.1*

Btw good app

### 5/5 — Great

*2020-10-02, version 2.1*

I was forced to rate it 5 stars

### 5/5 — Ага

*2020-09-22, version 2.1*

Ничо не понял, но очень интересно

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — EarthViewer needs an update!

*2026-01-06, version 2.1*

I installed this app several years ago, had completely forgotten about it.  Ran across it tonight, fired it up, very cool Geologic History simulation!  BUT … the only way to exit the app is to power cycle my iPhone!  The normal screen gestures to access are disabled by this app.  It appears to have not been updated for a very long time.

### 1/5 — How to exit?

*2024-03-31, version 2.1*

App really good except can’t exit once loaded on my 5G iPhone.  Have to shut phone down.

### 1/5 — バグ

*2023-05-15, version 2.1*

平面地図にしてから、球体にしようとしたらフリーズした

### 1/5 — No

*2022-05-02, version 2.1*

No

### 1/5 — Sadge

*2021-01-27, version 2.1*

Je suis forcer de l’installer 😣

### 1/5 — Incorrect information

*2019-09-08, version 2.1*

It says nothing about earth global warming 55 million years ago. It is called Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum where the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased and the average earth temperature was 14 degree F warmer than now, i.e., 73 degree F then vs 59 degree F now.  Instead, it says the earth temperature and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreased 55 million years ago, and we had global warming only recently.

### 1/5 — Help!

*2017-06-17, version 2.0.2*

The app will not open or close. I can not even delete it. It is dark and has been trying to open for days. I am not sure if it is effecting my iPad or not. Any help would be appreciated.

### 1/5 — Shame

*2014-01-04, version 1.1*

There are no Ukraine borders in ur map. Big shame on the authors of the app. Disgusting app.

### 1/5 — About earth viewer apps

*2013-03-21, version 1.0*

This stink like a cow poo and not enough info about earth life I have been study about life on earth and space also planets out there in space through out the solar systems that what happen from Big Bang all the way until now as today as how it's was formed billions years ago so fix everything right now to make it better like in the book about "solar system" or "our universe" and make this app free at no charge of money

### 1/5 — Booooo

*2013-02-02, version 1.0*

Fastest ever install, and delete

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Forget something

*2025-03-22, version 2.1*

This is a good app but where's pangea proxima? Can you add pangea proxima?

### 5/5 — KENORLAND!

*2025-03-16, version 2.1*

So I love this game but please add supercontinent Kenorland. Formed 2500 Mya

### 5/5 — Great app

*2024-11-29, version 2.1*

This app is really great! Shows the whole history of earth’s surface as well as a bunch of other features.
However there is a weird bug where Australia appears in a bunch of the images in the ancient earth viewer.

### 5/5 — Impressive

*2024-04-09, version 2.1*

Lol

### 5/5 — Nice

*2023-12-12, version 2.1*

Its nice tho

### 5/5 — Love it

*2023-11-27, version 2.1*

I like Earth history so I love this app but I want a view on Earth not from space but from the ground of Earth so you can see animals and land and sea different scenes for it :)

### 5/5 — いいアプリ

*2023-10-17, version 2.1*

大陸は46億年前から現在まで動かせるようになっていて、未来の予想も見えて温度も見えるようなものになっています

### 5/5 — Suggestion

*2023-04-23, version 2.1*

I downloaded this app 7 years ago and love it! It would be great if we could make a model of the earth address from 20,000bc to 1 million years ago! because I'm studying ancient human migrations

### 5/5 — Based app

*2023-03-20, version 2.1*

This app is based

### 5/5 — this is good

*2022-06-21, version 2.1*

this is good

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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 2026-07-10.*