Comparison

POLARIE U vs HAM Support

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

Head to head
About

POLARIE U

This app enhances night sky photography by controlling a star tracker. It offers various rotation speeds, camera shutter control, and advanced imaging modes for creating stunning time-lapses and HDR images of celestial objects.

Highlights
  • Variable rotation speeds
  • Custom rotation speed settings
  • Camera shutter control
  • Shoot-move-shoot function
  • Accurate star tracking
  • Bracketed imaging for HDR
  • Night vision light
Features
Read full description

The POLARIE U app is an app dedicated to the POLARIE U star tracker offered by Vixen. Shooting night skies is easy if only the POLARIE U. With the use of this app, however, you will enjoy creating a time-lapse movie of a higher level. Major features - Various speeds of rotations. (10x of the sidereal tracking rate at the maximum.) - The rotation speeds are available to set in the Custom Mode. - Control a camera shutter with an optionally available shutter release cable. - The motion of a POLARIE U can be linked with the shutter control (Shoot-move-shoot function). - Tracks the motion of stars accurately and the stars appear no trails in long exposures. - The bracketed imaging mode is available. It is effective in capturing fainter celestial objects such as diffuse and emission nebulae and it allows for creating HDR images using a stack of different exposures. A photo with a dynamic range wider than by a single shot will be a result. - The night vision light is available to use with either red light color or incandescent light color. - The screen colors are available for daytime use and nighttime use.

About

HAM Support

This app helps amateur radio operators manage their contacts and logs. It offers features like station searching, QSO logging, QSL card reminders, and data export. Enjoy offline functionality and an ad-free experience for efficient radio operations.

Highlights
  • QRZ.com integration for station search
  • Comprehensive QSO log management
  • Automatic GPS data input
  • QSL card sending reminders
  • CSV & ADIF log export
  • Offline log viewing
Features
Read full description

All-in-One App for Amateur Radio Operators! Introducing HAM Support, a practical logging and operating companion for amateur radio enthusiasts. HAM Support helps you keep QSO logs, manage station details, and quickly look up useful information during operation. It is built for everyday QSOs, portable operation, and reviewing your radio activity later. Features - QRZ.com Lookup β Use your QRZ.com credentials to look up callsigns and view details such as QTH, country, Grid Locator, QSL manager, CQ/ITU zone, alias callsigns, and more. - iCloud Sync Sync QSO logs across your devices so your records stay up to date on iPhone and iPad. - Comprehensive QSO Log Management Record and search QSOs by callsign, name, frequency, mode, date, and more. You can also save rig, antenna, power, QTH, QSL, and contest information. - Automatic GPS Input Record operating location, altitude, weather, and position data. QTH details, Grid Locator, and regional codes help speed up logging in the field. - Automatic Distance Calculation with Your Contact HAM Support can calculate the distance to the other station from QTH information and show locations on a map. - QSL Card Management Manage pending and completed QSL cards. You can optionally show the number of pending QSLs as an app badge. Configure a front photo and your station information, then export front-and-back QSL cards as PDF files. Export cards individually or bundle selected cards into a ZIP file for saving, AirDrop, printing, and sharing through the system share sheet. - Address Book Automatically build an address book from your QSO history, then add contact details, notes, and profile images. - Statistics Review monthly and yearly QSO counts, frequent callsigns, QSO distances, QSL ratio, and operating locations on a map. - CSV & ADIF Import / Export Import and export QSO logs as CSV. ADI and ADX export, Turbo HAMLOG CSV import, and zLog-compatible CSV export are supported. - Radio & Antenna Presets Register frequently used rigs and antennas to make future log entry faster. - Operator Tools Use band plan checking, prefix lookup, regional-code search, and Japanese phonetic table conversion. - Morse Code Tool Decode International and Japanese Morse code from microphone input or audio files. Generate Morse audio from text with selectable WPM and tone frequency, and play it through sound or the camera flash. Paddle, straight-key, and simple two-button input modes are available for practice and analysis. Morse actions are also available through Shortcuts and system-wide keyboard extensions. - Blacklist Feature Flag callsigns you want to avoid and receive a warning when creating a new QSO log with those stations. - Spotlight, Apple Intelligence, and Shortcuts Make QSO logs easier to find through Spotlight and Apple Intelligence-related features. Shortcuts can open a new QSO log, convert Japanese text to the Japanese phonetic table, decode Morse audio, or generate a Morse audio file from text. Why Use HAM Support? - Offline Functionality Saved logs can be viewed and managed offline, making this app reliable even in remote locations. - User-Friendly Interface for All Experience Levels With a simple, practical UI, HAM Support is comfortable for beginners and experienced operators alike. - Ad-Free with Basic Functions Available Free of Charge No ads to interrupt your operation. Some advanced features may require a subscription. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

POLARIE U3 screens
HAM Support4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: POLARIE U at none against HAM Support's 3. POLARIE U also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). HAM Support's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HAM Support sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. POLARIE U asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

POLARIE U ships an update every 2 months, HAM Support every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
POLARIE U versus HAM Support: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPOLARIE UHAM Support
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS11.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB136 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVixen Co.,Ltd.Yuri HARUNA

Customer experience

POLARIE U

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

HAM Support

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

POLARIE U

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

HAM Support

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Buy a coffee to developer$0.99

Questions

Is POLARIE U free?
POLARIE U is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HAM Support free?
HAM Support is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do POLARIE U or HAM Support have ads?
Neither POLARIE U nor HAM Support shows ads.
Which is updated more often, POLARIE U or HAM Support?
POLARIE U ships an update every 2 months, and HAM Support every 2 weeks. Most recently, POLARIE U was updated on November 3, 2026 and HAM Support on October 30, 2026.

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