DWARFLAB vs PhotoPile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DWARFLAB
This app connects wirelessly to a smart telescope, offering intuitive control for capturing stunning images of the night sky and dynamic terrestrial scenes. It features automatic tracking, in-app image processing, and panorama creation for both astrophotography and everyday use.
- Wireless telescope connection
- In-built star atlas for astrophotography
- Automatic celestial and motion tracking
- In-app image stacking and post-processing
- Gigapixel panorama creation
- Time-lapse photography
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DWARFLAB smart telescope, empowered by advanced technology, opens up a world of diverse perspectives for users, capturing the wonders of life. No guidance or experience needed, it's ready to use out of the box. Wireless Connection Use the App to connect wirelessly with DWARFLAB smart telescope, enabling not only precise control but also making the shooting process more flexible and efficient. Astrophotography The App features an in-built star atlas, allowing you to simply tap on the celestial you desire to proceed with automatic star tracking and enjoy real-time image stacking. You can also adjust the astro curves and personalize the color grading to create your own 4K astronomical images. In-App Post Processing Capture, select, stack, and enhance — all in one seamless workflow for astrophotography. Supports both onboard stacking and cloud-based processing, with multi-format export options to make every astro image crisp and brilliant. Motion Tracking You can freely select the target to track on the shooting interface, enjoying the flexibility of manual selection; or you can use the telescope's automatic recognition function, which intelligently identifies tracks, and starts recordings, easily capturing dynamic scenes such as bird predation, flights, and sports close-ups. Gigapixel Panorama Simply set the shooting range and tap to start — with one-click stitching, you can create extremely detailed and vast panoramic images, supporting deep zoom and experiencing an unprecedented level of detail richness. Time-Lapse Photography Capture the flow and changes of time, recording the hustle and bustle of traffic, the blooming and wilting of flowers. Combined with astronomical tracking functions, it can also record the trajectory of the sun, solar/lunar eclipses, and the star trails.
PhotoPile
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Clean up your camera roll one small pile at a time. PhotoPile helps you review photos, screenshots, and videos in short, simple sessions. Swipe right to keep an item, swipe left to mark it for deletion, then review everything before anything is moved to Recently Deleted. No accounts. No ads. No tracking. Your photos stay on your iPhone. PhotoPile is designed for people who want a calmer way to clean up their photo library without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Features: • Review recent photos in small piles • Swipe to keep or mark items for deletion • Review all delete decisions before confirming • Clean screenshots, videos, random photos, or recent photos • No cloud upload, no account, no analytics, no ads • Items are moved to Recently Deleted, so you stay in control PhotoPile does not permanently erase photos directly. Deleted items are moved through the Photos app’s normal Recently Deleted flow.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: PhotoPile at every 2 days against DWARFLAB's every 5 weeks. DWARFLAB's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15 vs 17.0). On price, 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.
DWARFLAB ships an update every 5 weeks, PhotoPile every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DWARFLAB | PhotoPile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (145 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 36.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 145 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 219 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tinyphoton (Wuhan) Technology. Co., Ltd. | Emre Karakaya |
Bugs and requests
DWARFLAB
Reported bugs
21 issues- WiFi connection fails repeatedly or drops within seconds
- App crashes on iOS 18 and older iOS versions
- Account creation security verification fails
- Full-screen mode freezes with no escape option
- Autofocus produces inconsistent or blurry results
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- Manual focus unresponsive
- Tracking takes excessive time to initiate
- Dark frame calibration lines appear and ruin images
- Temperature-related calibration failures
- Settings reset to defaults after stacking
- IR Cut/Pass filter constantly resets to Pass mode
- Photo saving to album is inconsistent (hit or miss)
- App freezes when changing camera systems
- Inverted controls and flipped image display
- Battery icon obscures capacity readout on iPhone
- STA mode connectivity broken
- Firmware update errors prevent connection
- Image preview not displaying in app
- Joystick controls unresponsive intermittently
- Wide and telephoto lens menu settings reversed
- App incompatible with iOS versions below 15
Requested features
13 requests- One-tap return to home and power off function
- Panorama/mosaic image merging capability
- Comet-aligned tracking mode
- Dew control for iOS (available on Android)
- iPad-optimized app version
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- Histogram display in app
- Burst mode functionality
- External Barlow lens support
- Mac M-series silicon compatibility
- Ability to skip firmware updates until convenient time
- Milky Way capture documentation for Dwarf Mini
- Photo album integration improvements
- STA mode WiFi connectivity fix
PhotoPile
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
DWARFLAB
No in-app purchases
PhotoPile
No in-app purchases









