Comparison

Sputnik! vs nGeneTime

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

Head to head
About

Sputnik!

Track the International Space Station and bright satellites with precise timing and location data. Get second-by-second countdowns, set reminders, and view satellite paths in the night sky. Supports offline calculations and sharing sightings.

Highlights
  • Accurate satellite and ISS sighting predictions
  • Starlink satellite train detection
  • Second-by-second countdowns
  • Sighting reminders
  • Compass direction and elevation display
  • Night sky path visualization
  • Offline calculations
Features
Read full description

Sputnik! is an easy to use tool for predicting when the International Space Station will pass by your location or when a bright satellite will be visible in the skies above. Sputnik! features: - Predictions of satellite and ISS sightings accurate to the second. - Detection of Starlink satellite trains. - Second by second countdown to the satellite sighting. - Set reminders of upcoming satellite sightings. - Displays compass direction and elevation for your device to easily find the part of the sky where the sighting will occur (requires capable device). - Rotate your device to landscape orientation to show exactly where the satellite will pass in the night sky. - Share sightings via Twitter, Facebook, Mail, Messages and others. - Automatic download of up to date satellite orbital data. - Offline calculations, no need to be connected to the internet once orbital data has been downloaded. - Input your location automatically by GPS, select from a map or enter coordinates manually. - Save your favorite places for easy access. - Audio cues for the last seconds before the satellite passes by. Sputnik! on Apple Watch: - Easily find the next and last sighting at your current location. * Sputnik! is ad-supported *

About

nGeneTime

Features
Read full description

nGeneTime combines a kinetic desk clock, weather, a monthly calendar watermark, a solar-term calendar with Four Pillars, and line casting for The Book of Change. IPHONE DESK CLOCK Rotate to landscape for magnetic motion and hourglass-style disappearance effects. - Choose 12-hour or 24-hour time, optional seconds, and compact or full dates. - View local weather in Celsius or Fahrenheit. - Drag and pinch the title, date, weather, and optional pillar display to move and resize them. - Use Date Size, Weather Size, and Pillar Size sliders in Clock Settings. - Show or hide the header and double-tap the visible title to edit it. Defaults are 12-hour time, hidden seconds, compact dates, Celsius, and a hidden header. MONTH, DAY, AND HOUR PILLARS Optionally display the current month, day, and hour pillars in Chinese characters on one compact line, separated by colons with no labels or spaces. - Off by default; enable in Clock Settings. - Drag to move, pinch to resize, or use Pillar Size. - Position and size are saved, with an independent reset. - Uses the portrait calendar's saved time zone and calculation mode. MONTHLY CALENDAR WATERMARK Optionally display the full current Gregorian month behind the clock. - Drag to move, pinch to resize, or use Calendar Size. - Adjust opacity and choose today's highlight color. - Start weeks on Sunday or Monday. - Lock against accidental movement and resizing. - Reset position and size independently. The watermark follows the device's local date and time zone. Today's colored marker remains visible as the calendar fades. Preferences and layout are saved automatically. PORTRAIT CALENDAR Rotate to portrait for lunar dates, day pillars, current Four Pillars, solar-term transitions, and date-selectable hour-pillar tables. Live Four Pillars shows the current time. Selecting a date changes the selected-date hour-pillar table. LONGITUDE-TO-TIME GLOBE Rotate, tilt, and zoom. View latitude and longitude, compare the selected time-zone reference meridian with the longitude used for correction, and follow five one-hour longitude guides with corresponding clocks. Simplified civil time-zone boundaries are optional. CALCULATION BASIS Choose Time-zone or Longitude-corrected time. Time-zone uses the selected civil time zone for all four pillars. With usable location, Longitude-corrected time applies a longitude adjustment from the selected time-zone reference meridian to all four. Without usable location, the selected time-zone basis is used. Latitude positions the globe marker; longitude determines the correction. The year pillar changes at the Beginning of Spring, not January 1. The month pillar changes at its solar-term boundary, not the start of the Gregorian month. Boundary times use the selected time zone. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS - Calendar: Month, lunar dates, day pillars, and solar-term boundary - Four Pillars: Current hour, day, month, and year pillars - Hour Pillars: Twelve intervals with the current interval highlighted THE BOOK OF CHANGE Cast lines from a running timer's hundredth-second value: odd creates a whole line, even a broken line. Six lines form a set; multiple sets can be reviewed. Line casting and visual review are provided, without a complete digital edition, translation, commentary, or interpretation. APPLE WATCH - Current time and Four Pillars - Solar-term-based year and month pillars - Optional longitude-corrected pillar time - Monthly calendar and selected-date hour pillars - Timer presets, custom durations of 1-180 minutes, progress, and vibration patterns - Circular and corner day/hour-pillar complications with active timer countdowns PRIVACY Location is optional. Weather sends coordinates to Apple Weather or Open-Meteo. The calendar may use IP-based approximate location when Core Location is unavailable. Calendar and pillar calculations run on-device. No account is required. Information is not used for advertising or cross-app tracking.

Screenshots

Sputnik!4 screens
nGeneTime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: nGeneTime at none against Sputnik!'s 1. nGeneTime also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months). Sputnik!'s advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). 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. Sputnik! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. nGeneTime asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sputnik! ships an update every 5 months, nGeneTime every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sputnik! versus nGeneTime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSputnik!nGeneTime
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (732 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews92.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings732 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS14.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplicate LtdHyunsuk Roh

Bugs and requests

Sputnik!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App reporting 'No Sightings' for all categories
  • Null check errors when selecting satellite sightings
  • Issues with location settings and data updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more satellite types
  • Improve sky chart visualization and orientation
  • Provide filtering options (e.g. by elevation, magnitude)
  • Implement automatic data updates

nGeneTime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sputnik!

One-time1
  • Go ad-free$0.99
None

nGeneTime

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sputnik! free?
Sputnik! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is nGeneTime free?
nGeneTime is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sputnik! or nGeneTime have ads?
Neither Sputnik! nor nGeneTime shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sputnik! or nGeneTime?
Sputnik! ships an update every 5 months, and nGeneTime every 10 days. Most recently, Sputnik! was updated on November 1, 2026 and nGeneTime on November 5, 2026.

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