SynScan vs SynScan Photo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SynScan
Control motorized telescope mounts for celestial object tracking and exploration. Features include GOTO functionality, object catalogs, and gamepad navigation. Ideal for novice users with alt-azimuth mounts.
- Control telescope mount slew, align, GOTO, and track
- Point and Track celestial objects
- Support gamepad navigation
- Browse and save celestial object catalogs
- Third-party app integration (ASCOM, SkySafari, Stellarium)
- Emulator mount for testing
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Use the SynScan app to control Sky-Watcher telescope mounts via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE. Mounts without built-in Wi-Fi can be supported via a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. This version of the SynScan app is suited for novice users using alt-azimuth mounts. Features - Control telescope mount to slew, align, GOTO and track. - Point And Track: track celestial objects (including the Sun and planets) without aligning. - Support gamepad navigation. - Browse a catalog of stars, comets, and deep sky objects. Or, save your own objects. - Provide access to mount for use by third-party apps, including ASCOM clients, SkySafari, Luminos, Stellarium Mobile Plus, Stellarium Desktop or customer-developed apps. Also set up mount alignment for Luminos, Skysafari. - Support access to the mount and the SynScan app from any platform that supports TCP/UDP connections. - Provide emulator mount for testing and practicing. - Track fast-moving earth satellites by working with the PreviSat app on Windows PC or the Lumios app on iOS devices.
SynScan Photo
Control Skywatcher AZ-Mounts for astrophotography tasks like panoramas and time-lapses. Requires a mount with a Wi-Fi module and specific firmware version.
- Control Skywatcher AZ-Mounts
- Perform panoramic photography
- Create time-lapse sequences
- Execute multiple-point scans
- Wi-Fi module required
- Firmware version 3.20+ needed
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SynScan Photo can control a Skywatcher AZ-Mount(i.e. AZ-GTi、Star Discovery、SynScan AZ80...)to perform multiple photographic tasks, including panorama, time-lapse or multiple-points scan. Note: A mount with a built-in Wi-Fi module must be used, and the motor firmware of the mount is version 3.20 or higher.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SynScan at 3.3 against SynScan Photo's 2.0. SynScan also leads on ratings volume (8 vs 2). SynScan Photo's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 22%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
SynScan holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 22% of SynScan's written reviews are positive against 50% of SynScan Photo's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SynScan ships an update every 2 months, SynScan Photo every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SynScan | SynScan Photo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (8 ratings) — better | 2.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 22.2% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Astropower Technology Co. Ltd. | SynUe Tech. Co., Ltd |
Customer experience
SynScan
SynScan Photo
In-app purchases
SynScan
No in-app purchases
SynScan Photo
No in-app purchases
