Pocket Universe vs MeteorActive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Universe
Explore the night sky with this intuitive guide. Identify planets, constellations, and satellites by simply pointing your device. Discover celestial events, track celestial bodies, and learn about thousands of astronomical objects.
- Live sky view with object identification
- Time travel for celestial event prediction
- Explore mode for upcoming events and solar activity
- Search and browse celestial objects
- Detailed information on thousands of objects
- Home Screen widgets for Sun/Moon times and Moon phase
- Customizable viewing modes with night vision
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There's never been a better time to get into Astronomy! Start off easy with an app that will guide you around the night sky. "The app works beautifully, making astronomy a bit less mysterious—but no less remarkable", MacWorld "It’s truly an impressive marvel. 5 Mice out of 5", MacWorld. "..one of the prettiest and easiest to use. And at three bucks, it’s a steal", Cult of Mac. Apple App Store Staff Favorite Voted Best Educational iPhone Application by AppAdvice --- Pocket Universe 2 turns your iPhone or iPad into an intuitive guide to the night sky. Just point your device upward to instantly identify what’s overhead—planets, constellations, comets, satellites, and deep-sky wonders. Designed for clarity and ease of use, Pocket Universe 2 helps you learn the sky naturally, whether you’re stepping outside for a quick look or exploring in detail from your couch. Key features • Live sky view: Aim your device to identify stars, planets, the ISS, satellites, comets, and bright deep-sky objects in real time. • Time travel: Scrub hours or days forward and back, jump to sunrise, sunset, golden hour, moonrise, or moonset - and return to “now” instantly. • Explore mode: Discover what’s worth looking for tonight, with summaries of upcoming events, solar activity, Moon phases and maps, Jupiter and Saturn’s moons and rings, a full Solar System orrery, and dedicated ISS and satellite views. • Find anything fast: Search by name, browse curated “cool things” lists, or jump straight to planets and other Solar System bodies. • Rich object details: Learn about thousands of objects, including planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, and more. • Widgets: Add Sun and Moon times and Moon phase to your Home Screen or desktop. • Deep customization: Night vision mode, labels, grids, constellation lines, satellites, comets, and more. Save presets to switch instantly between your favorite viewing modes. Pocket Universe 2 is the sequel to Pocket Universe, one of the first astronomy apps on the App Store. It has been completely rewritten using modern frameworks and tools to deliver a faster, cleaner, and more immersive stargazing experience. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
MeteorActive
Get accurate meteor shower forecasts based on your location, moon phase, and light pollution. Discover major events, upcoming nights, and hourly estimates for the best viewing opportunities.
- Major events calendar
- Upcoming nights predictions
- Hour-by-hour estimates
- Meteor showers reference
- Location-based accuracy
- Moon interference calculation
- Light pollution consideration
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The most accurate meteor activity forecast • Major events calendar • Upcoming nights predictions • Hour-by-hour estimates • Meteor showers reference Meteor activity varies greatly from one night to another. Most of the time you can expect to see 3-15 meteors per hour, but several times per year this number could rise to 90, or even more! The MeteorActive app uses the latest scientific findings and cutting edge technology to calculate how many meteors you can see at given time. It takes into account your geographical location, meteoroid stream orbits, moon interference and light pollution to find the most spectacular events for you. Clear skies!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MeteorActive at none against Pocket Universe's 3. MeteorActive also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (89% vs 73%). On price, update cadence, 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. Pocket Universe sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. MeteorActive asks for nothing beyond the download.
MeteorActive holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MeteorActive has 2.4K ratings behind it against 260, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Pocket Universe's written reviews are positive against 89% of MeteorActive's.
Pocket Universe ships an update every 5 weeks, MeteorActive every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Pocket Universe | MeteorActive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (260 ratings) | 4.8 (2.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.5% of reviews | 88.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 260 | 2.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Kennedy | Alexander Vasenin |
Customer experience
Pocket Universe
MeteorActive
User reviews
Pocket Universe
From 260 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app
- 👍 Useful for astronomy
- 👍 Excellent educational tool
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Accurate
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes
- 🐛 Inaccurate compass/tracking
- 🐛 Buggy after updates
- 🐛 Doesn't work on older devices
- 🐛 Location issues
MeteorActive
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Amazing app with great features
- 👍 User-friendly and intuitive interface
- 🔭 Detailed and accurate information on meteor showers
- 💫 Stunning visualizations and animations
- 🆓 Free and ad-free app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🕰️ Missing notifications for upcoming events
- 🗺️ Lacking location-based features
- 🔍 Could use more detailed instructions and explanations
Bugs and requests
Pocket Universe
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes on launch
- Compass issues
- Inaccurate sky positioning
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
Requested features
8 requests- Ability to set time and date
- Improved motion tracking and compass calibration
- Larger text size options
- More detailed information on stars, galaxies, etc.
- Comet and asteroid tracking
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- Satellite tracking
- Southern hemisphere sky view
- Wikipedia integration for more objects
MeteorActive
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when trying to access certain features
- Charts and visualizations not updating correctly
- Inconsistent performance on older devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add notification system for meteor showers
- Integrate with calendar app for easy scheduling
- Provide more location-specific data and recommendations
- Expand coverage to include more minor meteor showers
In-app purchases
Pocket Universe
- Monthly subscription$0.991 Month
- Annual subscription$4.991 Year
- Pocket Universe Lifetime unlock$19.99
MeteorActive
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket Universe free?
Is MeteorActive free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Universe or MeteorActive?
Do Pocket Universe or MeteorActive have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Universe or MeteorActive?
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