DWARFLAB vs +Frames
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.
+Frames
This app helps astrophotographers plan their shots by providing a sky atlas, equipment-specific target recommendations, and field-of-view previews. It also offers an AI assistant for personalized advice and project tracking for deep-sky objects.
- Sky atlas with millions of stars and deep-sky objects
- Ranked target recommendations based on equipment and sky conditions
- True field-of-view preview for cameras and eyepieces
- Mosaic planning up to 4x4
- Project tracking for exposures and filters
- AI assistant for personalized astrophotography advice
- Augmented Reality (AR) mode for target location
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Clear night ahead? +Frames tells you what to shoot - and how to shoot it. THE ATLAS The whole sky in your pocket: ~12 million stars down to magnitude 14, 8,800 deep-sky objects, Sun, Moon and planets, asteroids, comets and 16,000 satellites moving live. Real astrophotos lie on the map, galaxies are drawn with their true orientation, and every object opens a card with the numbers that matter tonight. TONIGHT'S TARGETS, RANKED The Night tab scores every object for YOUR equipment, YOUR sky and YOUR horizon: altitude, moon distance, usable dark window, field-of-view fit. Grade A to E - the best target for tonight is always on top. FRAME IT True field-of-view preview for your camera or eyepiece. Rotate the frame, plan mosaics up to 4×4, check the sampling. An 8-sector horizon profile per site keeps trees and rooftops out of your plans. PROJECTS Track every target over nights: subs, exposure, gain, filter by filter. Camera angle and position are saved with the project and restored when you return. Export the plan in ASIAIR format. ASTRO BUDDY Your AI assistant knows your gear, your site and tonight's sky. Ask what to shoot, why a filter fits, how long to expose — computed from your sensor, your Bortle sky and the Moon. Type "I have a ZWO ASI2600MC" and he looks it up and saves it to your gear. AND MORE - Plate solving puts your own photos on the atlas - AR mode shows where a target sits in your real sky - Red night mode protects your dark adaptation - Calendar with moon phases and events, searchable up to 2050 - Works offline; no account, your data stays on your device (private iCloud backup) +Frames Premium unlocks the whole app - 7-day free trial. Languages: EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PT, JA, KO, ZH, UK, RU, PL, TR. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ App terms: https://plus-frames.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://plus-frames.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: +Frames at 5.0 against DWARFLAB's 3.5. +Frames also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 weeks). DWARFLAB's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (141 vs 1). On price, 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
Both are free to download. +Frames sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. DWARFLAB asks for nothing beyond the download.
+Frames holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DWARFLAB has 141 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
DWARFLAB ships an update every 5 weeks, +Frames every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DWARFLAB | +Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (141 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 35.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 141 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 209 MB | 743 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tinyphoton (Wuhan) Technology. Co., Ltd. | LEVIN GIDEON MERANER |
Customer experience
DWARFLAB
+Frames
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
+Frames
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
DWARFLAB
No in-app purchases
+Frames
- Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year







