Comparison

Exoplanet vs SOS Remote

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

Head to head
About

Exoplanet

Explore a vast, interactive database of discovered exoplanets and their host stars. Visualize their physical properties, locations in the night sky, and orbital paths. Discover the observable universe from Earth to the cosmic microwave background with stunning 3D models and augmented reality features.

Highlights
  • Interactive visualizations and animations
  • Daily updated exoplanet and host star properties
  • 3D Milky Way model with exoplanet locations
  • Augmented reality sky map
  • Exoplanet orbit and habitable zone visualizations
  • Data from multiple exoplanet catalogs
Features
Read full description

Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars beyond our own solar system. This app allows you to explore all discovered exoplanets, their measured physical properties, their location in the night sky, and their host stars. An interactive model shows you the entire observable universe, all the way from the surface of the Earth to the cosmic microwave background. This app has been developed by a professional astronomer. Main features: * Interactive visualizations and animations. * Physical properties of all detected exoplanets and their host stars, updated on a daily basis. * Stunning 3D model of our Milky Way showing the location of all known exoplanets. You can zoom into any planetary system, explore how the night sky and the constellations look from the surface of other planets, or zoom out and see other local galaxies and galaxy clusters as well as the cosmic microwave background. * Visualizations of exoplanet orbits and the habitable zone. * Choose between the Open Exoplanet Catalogue, the NASA Exoplanet Archive, and the Extrasolar Planet Encyclopedia (exoplanet.eu). * Push notifications are sent out whenever a new planet is discovered. * Augmented reality sky map: point the phone towards the sky to find an exoplanet! * Interactive multi-touch correlation plots. * Solar System planets, major moons, and asteroids are included. * Explore S-Stars orbiting the black hole at the Galactic Center of our Milky Way * Background information about exoplanets and detection methods. * Full support of planets in binary, triple, quadruple systems and orphan planets. * Real-time ray tracing on the GPU.

About

SOS Remote

Control a Science On a Sphere® system with your mobile device. Adjust sphere orientation, manage datasets, and enhance presentations with interactive features. Ideal for educational settings.

Highlights
  • Adjust sphere orientation
  • Control dataset playback
  • Load presentation playlists
  • Search and browse data catalog
  • View dataset descriptions
  • Create presentation playlists
  • Draw on and zoom datasets
  • Dynamically adjust dataset layers
Read full description

SOS Remote is a universal app for the iPhone*, iPod Touch*, and iPad that is used to control a Science On a Sphere® (SOS) system. SOS is a room sized, global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six-foot diameter sphere, analogous to an animated globe. SOS is used as an educational tool to help illustrate Earth System science to people of all ages in a way that is intuitive and captivating. The SOS Remote app affords greater interaction capabilities and ease of use compared to previous SOS controllers such as the Wii Remote. With this app, you can: • Adjust the orientation of the sphere in an intuitive way • Control playback of datasets • Load any presentation playlist stored on the SOS computer • Quickly search and browse the entire SOS Data Catalog and select datasets at random to load on the sphere • View a dataset's description and presenter notes while giving an SOS presentation • Quickly create a presentation playlist directly from the iPad • Draw on and zoom into a dataset loaded on the sphere • Dynamically turn on/off dataset layers and pips and adjust their transparency • Split the sphere into 2-4 vertical slices to replicate a portion of the dataset around the sphere • Perform full alignment of the sphere using an intuitive three step process * Note: The iPhone/iPod Touch support only a subset of the features described above. The iPad supports all features. Requirements: • In order to functionally use the SOS Remote app, you must have a Science On a Sphere® (SOS) installation • Wi-Fi or Bluetooth access to the SOS computer that is being controlled • SOS Software Version 5.5.0

Screenshots

Exoplanet4 screens
SOS Remote2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SOS Remote at none against Exoplanet's 7. SOS Remote also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 91%). Exoplanet's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (956 vs 2). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Exoplanet sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. SOS Remote asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SOS Remote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exoplanet has 956 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Exoplanet's written reviews are positive against 100% of SOS Remote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exoplanet ships an update every 2 weeks, SOS Remote every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and July 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Exoplanet versus SOS Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExoplanetSOS Remote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (956 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews91.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings956 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHanno ReinNOAA Science On a Sphere

Customer experience

Exoplanet

All ratings956 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews476 reviews
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative5.9%

SOS Remote

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Exoplanet

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Upgrade purchase issues with Galaxy Clusters and CMB add-on
  • Kepler objects of interest disappearing when switching databases

Requested features

9 requests
  • Add more detailed textures and visuals for exoplanets
  • Ability to view multiple databases simultaneously
  • Option to see planet surfaces and atmospheres
  • Inclusion of dwarf planets in our solar system
  • Ability to zoom in on and explore other galaxies
Show 4 more
  • Addition of black holes, pulsars, and other celestial objects
  • Inclusion of satellite and spacecraft orbits
  • Narration or audio commentary for key discoveries
  • Ability to view the universe from the surface of planets

SOS Remote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Exoplanet

One-time7
  • Galaxy Clusters and CMB$0.99
  • Asteroids$0.99
  • Gaia Stars$0.99
Show 4 more
  • S-Stars$0.99
  • Catalogues$0.99
  • Developer Appreciation Coffee$1.99
  • Kepler Add-on$2.99
None

SOS Remote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Exoplanet free?
Exoplanet is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SOS Remote free?
SOS Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Exoplanet or SOS Remote?
SOS Remote is rated higher. Exoplanet averages 4.7 out of 5 from 956 ratings, while SOS Remote averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Exoplanet or SOS Remote have ads?
Neither Exoplanet nor SOS Remote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exoplanet or SOS Remote?
Exoplanet ships an update every 2 weeks, and SOS Remote every 8 months. Most recently, Exoplanet was updated on September 26, 2026 and SOS Remote on July 20, 2026.

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