Solar Walk Lite vs PhosphorSWL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Solar Walk Lite
Explore our Solar System in an interactive 3D model. Discover celestial bodies with detailed information, real photos, and stunning visuals. This free app offers a pocket planetarium experience without requiring an internet connection.
- Interactive 3D Solar System model
- Real-time celestial body positions
- Detailed information and photos
- Orrery Mode for realistic/schematic views
- Anaglyph 3D option
- Zoom in/out for galaxy view
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Solar Walk Lite is an astronomical app that turns your device into an interactive planetarium with a wonderful 3D model of our Solar system. Take a trip to outer space and explore the immense scale of the Universe we live in. Lite version of the well-known space app Solar Walk is absolutely free and contains all the main characteristics and objects of our Solar system. - Absolutely free: no In-App Purchases - Small in size - No Internet connection required - Easy to use - Stunning graphics and visuals What Users say: "Excellent! First-rate tour of the Solar neighborhood. Don't miss!" - by Hamlet "I'm fall in love with this app. I love it! Thanks a lot." - by Béymar Háenz "The best app ever." - by Andrei Satova "Great app..It is a must have if you are interested in exploring what is outside Earth frontiers." - by Joe Rivers Main Features: ● Interactive 3D model of the Solar system. Enjoy amazing space view with real-time positions of all celestial bodies. ● Every celestial body is accompanied by its internal structure, extensive information, interesting facts, and gallery with real photos taken by telescopes or NASA spacecraft. ● Orrery Mode on/off allows you to see the schematic or realistic sizes and distances between the solar system objects. ● Anaglyph 3D on/off. If you have anaglyph 3D glasses you can activate this option to navigate through the Solar system and enjoy the beauty of space realms in 3D. ● Zoom-in to see objects in close up and zoom-out to see the position of our Solar system in galaxy. All 3D models presented in the app are based on scientific data collected by ESA and NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. Solar Walk Lite offers you: - Pocket planetarium - 3D model of our Solar system - Interactive space encyclopedia - Exciting way to learn about the Solar system for kids and adults - Virtual flights through the Universe - Fantastic view of our Milky Way galaxy Get a little closer to our wonderful Universe!
PhosphorSWL
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PhosphorSWL is a shortwave broadcast schedule browser and numbers station reference, rendered through the green phosphor glow of a Cold War signals intelligence console. Your phone becomes a monitoring station — a frequency dial, a schedule grid, a station database, and a curated dossier of every numbers station still whispering into the void. BROADCAST SCHEDULES Browse over 10,000 shortwave broadcast entries from the EiBi database — the most comprehensive freely-licensed shortwave schedule resource in existence. Filter by frequency band, time, language, and target area. See what's on air right now. Search for stations by name, country, or frequency. Every broadcast entry includes transmission times, languages, target areas, transmitter sites, and signal path maps showing the great circle route from transmitter to target. Schedule data refreshes automatically from EiBi, keeping your listings current through seasonal schedule changes. NUMBERS STATIONS The centrepiece. A personally curated database of known numbers stations — active, historic, and legendary. ENIGMA designators, frequencies, schedules, operators, signal characteristics, and full station profiles assembled from publicly observable facts. From E06 "Russian Man" still counting for the GRU, to the ghost of E03 "The Lincolnshire Poacher" — the most iconic numbers station ever recorded, silenced in 2008 after decades broadcasting from RAF Akrotiri. The Buzzer on 4625 kHz. The Pip. The Squeaky Wheel. Cuban DGI digital modes. Chinese military networks. Polish intelligence. Every station for which sufficient factual data exists. This is not a decoder. It is a field manual for the darkest inhabitants of the radio spectrum. SCANNER Scroll the entire shortwave spectrum from VLF submarine communications through every broadcasting band. Band headers mark the boundaries. Tap any entry for full details and signal path mapping. HF PROPAGATION Live HF propagation conditions from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, derived from the planetary K-index. Band-aware — lower frequencies are more resilient to geomagnetic disturbance than upper HF. The status bar tells you whether the ionosphere is cooperating before you tune in. THE INTERFACE Three phosphor colour modes: green (default), amber, and red. Red mode preserves scotopic dark adaptation for night-time listening — the same principle used in military operations rooms, submarine control rooms, and observatory domes. CRT scanlines. Phosphor glow. A frequency readout rendered in segmented digits. Function key tabs. A UTC clock. No bright colours, no rounded corners, no friendly illustrations. This is a monitoring console, not a lifestyle app. FAVOURITES Bookmark any broadcast or numbers station for quick access. Your listening post, organised. DATA SOURCES Broadcast schedules: EiBi Shortwave Schedule Database (eibispace.de), freely licensed for third-party use. Numbers station data: curated from Priyom.org, ENIGMA 2000, Numbers & Oddities, and the Signal Identification Wiki. Propagation data: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (public domain). All station observations are factual records of publicly receivable radio transmissions. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. No ads. No tracking. One price. The ether is full of ghosts. This is a ghost detector.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Solar Walk Lite at Free against PhosphorSWL's $0.99. Solar Walk Lite also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.4). PhosphorSWL's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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
Solar Walk Lite is free to download; PhosphorSWL costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Solar Walk Lite | PhosphorSWL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (33K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 33K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 184 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vito Technology Inc. | Stuart Woolley |
Bugs and requests
Solar Walk Lite
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when trying to view certain planets
- Incorrect sizes/positions of some moons and planets
- Ads covering the entire screen with no way to dismiss
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to explore other galaxies and deep space
- More detailed information on planet/moon interiors
- Option to remove ads through a paid version
- Improved time controls and animation
- Addition of more celestial objects like black holes
PhosphorSWL
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Solar Walk Lite
No in-app purchases
PhosphorSWL
No in-app purchases






