Field Guide to Clouds vs SOS Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Field Guide to Clouds
Identify clouds with this portable guide. Learn their formation, names, and weather implications. Test your knowledge with interactive quizzes. Available in English and Spanish.
- Cloud identification
- Cloud formation details
- Weather prediction insights
- Interactive quizzes
- Bilingual support (English/Spanish)
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The UCAR Center for Science Education's Field Guide to Clouds is a portable guidebook to identifying clouds. Learn about the different clouds in the sky, including how they form, how they get their names, and what they can tell you about the weather. Test your cloud knowledge with quizzes. Available with English and Spanish text.
SOS Explorer
Explore interactive animated datasets of Earth and space phenomena, from planetary rings to climate change models. This app brings complex environmental processes to life in an intuitive and captivating way, making learning accessible anywhere.
- Streaming high-resolution datasets
- Educational videos
- User-guided tours
- Analysis tools
- 100+ datasets
- Global and flat map views
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SOS Explorer (SOSx) Mobile is a free, flat screen mobile app version of the popular NOAA Science On a Sphere (SOS). This revolutionary software takes SOS datasets, usually only seen on a 6-foot sphere in large museum spaces, and makes them accessible, portable, and interactive anywhere. SOSx Mobile can immerse the user in animated images such as Saturn’s rings, atmospheric storms, climate change, and ocean temperatures to help explain sometimes complex environmental processes in a way that is intuitive, captivating, interactive, and entertaining. A desktop version, called SOS Explorer, is also available. Thank you for using SOS Explorer (SOSx) Mobile. We are committed to continually improving our software and providing you with an engaging and educational experience. We hope you enjoy the new features and enhancements in version 1.2! Please continue to share your feedback with us as we work on improvements. We appreciate your patience and support. Features include: • Streaming, high-resolution datasets • Educational videos • User-guided tours • Analysis tools • 100+ datasets • Global and flat map views Sample datasets: • Recent Hurricane Seasons • Bird Migration • Earthquake Activity • Snow and Ice • Ocean Currents • Historical Tsunamis • Facebook Friendships • Air Traffic • Planets of the Solar System • Climate Change Models • 360 Underwater Imagery • Narrated Movies • ...and so much more!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SOS Explorer at 4.7 against Field Guide to Clouds's 4.3. SOS Explorer also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Field Guide to Clouds's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SOS Explorer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 20 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 86% and 86% positive.
Field Guide to Clouds ships an update every 2 months, SOS Explorer every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Field Guide to Clouds | SOS Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (12 ratings) | 4.7 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | 85.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 20 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 11 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 249 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research | University of Colorado Boulder |
Customer experience
Field Guide to Clouds
SOS Explorer
In-app purchases
Field Guide to Clouds
No in-app purchases
SOS Explorer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Field Guide to Clouds free?
Is SOS Explorer free?
Which has better reviews, Field Guide to Clouds or SOS Explorer?
Do Field Guide to Clouds or SOS Explorer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Field Guide to Clouds or SOS Explorer?
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