FarSight XR vs DIY Solar System
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FarSight XR
Experience interactive augmented reality with this app. Bring educational products like reptile books, anatomy displays, and solar system posters to life with 3D models, videos, and sound. Engage with content through interactive quizzes and explore from any angle.
- Interactive 3D models
- Video and sound integration
- Augmented reality quizzes
- Explore from any angle
- Content comes to life with camera
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Use the FarSight XR app to experience our interactive augmented reality enhanced products: • Reptiles & Amphibians: An Augmented Reality Popup Book • Tide Pools: An Augmented Reality Book • Human Anatomy Interactive Augmented Reality Display • Our Solar System: An Augmented Reality Poster The products are available here: https://farsightxr.com/app_discover/ See still images turn into videos, complete with sound. See interactive 3D models emerge from the pages or posters. Touch interactive elements to learn more and see 3D animations. Take an interactive quiz in Augmented Reality. Launch the app on your iPhone or iPad and aim the camera at the product to see the content come to life. Move your device near the product to get a closer look. Move farther from the product to get a wider view. For the interactive 3D models, you can move or walk around to view the model from any angle. Enjoy!
DIY Solar System
Explore the solar system with interactive activities and an augmented reality planet walk. Learn about space travel, design a moon base, and identify celestial objects. Developed by leading science institutions, this app makes learning about space engaging for families and educators.
- Interactive space activities
- Augmented reality planet walk
- Design a moon base
- Grow a space garden
- Control a Mars rover
- In or Out space game
- NASA imagery
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DIY Solar System makes it easy for families and educators to explore the solar system from anywhere, anytime! The app was developed by the Children’s Creativity Museum, Sciencenter, and Museum of Life and Science, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s The Lawrence Hall of Science. INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES DIY Solar System includes 11 easy-to-use activities to learn about space travel, living in space, and the unique objects that make up the planetary system we call home. Design a Moon base, grow your own space garden, or experience what it’s like to control a rover on Mars! Each activity includes step-by-step instructions that have been tested by educators, kids, and families. Activity materials are easily available and inexpensive—you may already have many of them in your home! AUGMENTED REALITY PLANET WALK Don’t have the time to travel several billion miles to reach Neptune? Try dropping a scale version of the solar system outside your home to start a walk that will show you planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids. At each stop, examine the space object up close using real images from NASA. Don’t forget to take a space selfie with your favorite planet! IN OR OUT GAME Quickly scan awe-inspiring images of space objects from NASA’s Earth and space observatories to decide if the objects are in or out of the solar system. While the solar system is vast, it only represents a tiny corner of the universe. After you have mastered your solar system knowledge, challenge yourself to a new round of objects in or out of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Funding Source This work was supported by NASA under award number 80NSSC21M0082. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs are those of the author and do not reflect the views of NASA. Compatibility Requires iOS 12.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone and iPad. Rated 4+.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: DIY Solar System at none against FarSight XR's shown. DIY Solar System also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). FarSight XR's advantage is ratings volume (243 vs 17). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
FarSight XR holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FarSight XR has 243 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of FarSight XR's written reviews are positive against 100% of DIY Solar System's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
FarSight XR ships an update every 5 months, DIY Solar System every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | FarSight XR | DIY Solar System |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (243 ratings) — better | 4.5 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 243 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 305 MB | 180 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FarSight XR, LLC | The Lawrence Hall of Science |
Customer experience
FarSight XR
DIY Solar System
In-app purchases
FarSight XR
No in-app purchases
DIY Solar System
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is FarSight XR free?
Is DIY Solar System free?
Which has better reviews, FarSight XR or DIY Solar System?
Do FarSight XR or DIY Solar System have ads?
Which is updated more often, FarSight XR or DIY Solar System?
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