Comparison

Backyard Apollo AR vs Space Race AR

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Backyard Apollo AR

Experience a life-sized Apollo Saturn V rocket in augmented reality. Explore it from all angles, walk around it, and launch it with realistic sounds and visuals. Customize your rocket experience and share snapshots.

Highlights
  • Life-sized rocket model
  • 360-degree viewing
  • Augmented reality placement
  • Realistic launch sequence
  • Authentic mission sounds
  • Customizable rocket experience
  • Snapshot sharing
Read full description

Its the model rocket you’ve always wanted! See a life-sized Apollo Saturn V rocket up close from every angle walk under and around it, then blast it off! Authentic mission sounds using 3D positional audio — wear headphones for the coolest effect — combine with realistic high-detail graphics, physically-based rendering, and HDR audio recordings of real rocket launches to make the experience just like being there! You’ll be able to launch your rocket again and again, from anywhere you like. Just tap where you want your rocket to appear. It's that easy! Launch a tiny model on your desktop or a full-sized giant in a field! Backyard Apollo offers ways to customize your experience too, making it even more fun to launch your rockets and take snapshots for your friends. “3…2…1…Houston: we have liftoff”!

About

Space Race AR

Experience the history of space travel through augmented reality. This app brings an accompanying book to life with interactive videos and 3D models of spacecraft, viewable on compatible devices.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality space travel history
  • Interactive archive videos
  • 3D models of iconic space vehicles
  • View spacecraft from all angles
  • Links to purchase accompanying book
Read full description

Bring the history of space travel to life! Carlton's book Space Race tells the complete story of space travel, from the very first rockets to future missions to Mars and beyond. This app transforms the book into a unique digital experience, fuelled by the latest augmented reality technology: - Activate amazing archive videos of spaceflight that appear to play on the pages of the book. - Trigger 3D models of iconic space vehicles including the Appollo Moon Lander and the Curiosity rover, and view them from every angle with your device. How it works: Once you press the play button on the app’s opening screen, simply look at the interactive pages of your Space Race book through the app. Look out for pages with interactive boxes marked 'REPLAY HISTORY HERE!' and 'SEE IT IN 3D!'. If you don’t already have the book, tap the play button on the app's opening screen and wait for 20 seconds to get a link to a retail page outside the app where the book can be purchased. This free app is available to anyone with a compatible smartphone or tablet (iPhone 5 or above, iPad 2 or above, iPod Touch 5th Gen. or above - all running iOS 8.0 or above).

Screenshots

Backyard Apollo AR4 screens
Space Race AR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Backyard Apollo AR at 4.7 against Space Race AR's 4.0. Backyard Apollo AR also leads on ratings volume (1.5K vs 2). Space Race AR's advantage is iOS requirement (7.0 vs 15.6). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backyard Apollo AR holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backyard Apollo AR has 1.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backyard Apollo AR ships an update every 7 months, Space Race AR every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Backyard Apollo AR versus Space Race AR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackyard Apollo ARSpace Race AR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews69.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.67.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB300 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWobbleworks LLCCarlton Books Limited

Customer experience

Backyard Apollo AR

All ratings1,488 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive69.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative26.1%

Space Race AR

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Backyard Apollo AR

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Startup crashes and sensor reset loops
  • Rocket launch sequence freezes
  • Persistent audio issues after app closure

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add more rocket models and launch configurations
  • Implement video recording capability
  • Improve overall stability and performance

Space Race AR

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Backyard Apollo AR

No in-app purchases

None

Space Race AR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backyard Apollo AR free?
Backyard Apollo AR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Space Race AR free?
Space Race AR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backyard Apollo AR or Space Race AR?
Backyard Apollo AR is rated higher. Backyard Apollo AR averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Space Race AR averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Backyard Apollo AR or Space Race AR have ads?
Neither Backyard Apollo AR nor Space Race AR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backyard Apollo AR or Space Race AR?
Backyard Apollo AR ships an update every 7 months, and Space Race AR every 11 months. Most recently, Backyard Apollo AR was updated on October 20, 2026 and Space Race AR on October 2, 2026.

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