Spherium vs AstroShader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spherium
Easily view and share 360-degree images from your photo library. Supports high-resolution panoramas and allows for sharing full 360 photos or specific snapshots. Automatically finds equirectangular images and lets you manually exclude incorrect identifications.
- View 360 degree images
- Supports high resolutions (4k, 8k, 16k+)
- Share full 360 photos
- Take and share image snapshots
- Automatic 360 image detection
- Manual exclusion of images
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Spherium is designed to easily view and share 360 degree images saved in your Photo Library. Spherium supports viewing equirectangular 360 images, and is designed to handle images from a minimum resolution of 1000 x 2000 pixels; allowing you to view panoramas images 4k, 8k, 10k, or even 16k and above in resolution. While viewing a photo in Spherium you can share the entire 360 photo, or take snapshots of portions of the image for sharing. Spherium will automatically attempt to find the 360 equirectangular images saved in your photo library from 360 cameras, drones, other apps, the web or anywhere else you have saved them from. If Spherium incorrectly identifies an image as a 360 you can manually exclude it from appearing in Spherium.
AstroShader
Capture, stack, and edit stunning astrophotography directly on your mobile device. This app streamlines the process by aligning and stacking images live during capture, eliminating the need for external software. Fine-tune your celestial images with a comprehensive suite of editing tools.
- Live image alignment and stacking
- Manual focus control
- Adjustable exposure, ISO, and white balance
- Intervalometer for timed captures
- Advanced image editing tools
- Save in multiple formats including TIFF
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One-time purchase. No subscription. AstroShader is an astrophotography app for capturing, stacking and editing. All you need is a stand, tripod, telescope or rock (to lean your phone on). AstroShader lets you align and stack live during the image capture process. You can also align and stack images from you Photos library. No need to transfer images to a computer to align and stack them separately (but there is a built in intervalometer if you need it). To take an image follow these steps: • Use a stand, tripod, telescope mount (or lean your iPhone on a rock). • Zoom in on stars and set focus manually, or use autofocus. • Set the exposure time, ISO and white balance, or leave to auto-exposure. • Set the number of exposures to be automatically aligned and stacked. • Calibrate your images from the edit tools. • After the capture is complete you can edit and save your image—including as 16bit TIFF. • You can open images directly to use the edit tools in AstroShader - rather following a new image capture. Image capture options include: • Number of exposures to be aligned and stacked • Exposure time • ISO • White balance • Camera type • Countdown timer • Manual focus • Pause the capture to reposition iPhone or telescope Edit options include: • Stretch image • Background extraction • Dynamic background extraction (DBE) • x5 Histogram curves for fine tonal adjustment • x3 sharpen layers each with radius and intensity with layer blending rather than chaining • Brightness (low light enhancement) • Saturation • Black point • Temperature • Tint • Save format options; HEIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: AstroShader at every 3 weeks against Spherium's every 26 months. AstroShader also leads on price ($1.99 vs $4.99) and chart position (#10 vs #197). Spherium's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Spherium costs $4.99 and AstroShader $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Spherium against 4.2 for AstroShader. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AstroShader has 105 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Spherium's written reviews are positive against 61% of AstroShader's.
Spherium ships an update every 26 months, AstroShader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spherium | AstroShader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (15 ratings) — better | 4.2 (105 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.9% of reviews | 61.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 | 105 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 26 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #197 | #10 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kyle Howells | AstroShader Limited |
Customer experience
Spherium
AstroShader
In-app purchases
Spherium
No in-app purchases
AstroShader
No in-app purchases
