Comparison

StarTracker HD vs acmqueue

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

Head to head
About

StarTracker HD

Explore the night sky with this augmented reality planetarium. Identify stars, constellations, planets, and deep sky objects by simply pointing your device at the sky. All data is available offline.

Highlights
  • Augmented Reality Star Gazing
  • Identify 8000+ stars, planets, and constellations
  • Offline data access
  • Search and lock celestial objects
  • Time Machine feature
  • High-quality graphics
Features
Read full description

== Best StarGazing experience @60fps! == == Video: http://tiny.cc/starvideo == --- Top 1 Education app in 34 countries and Top 10 Education app in 79 countries when FREE! Thank you all my dear users, please leave a review or rating if you love this application! --- Hey, get outdoor with your friends and start star gazing! Let StarTracker guide you to explore the universe. Just hold up and point the device to the sky and have fun! You can see any stars, constellations and deep sky objects you are watching in reality. ======================== What our user said: "Best star gazing app I've ever used. Very well put together and great visuals!!! From end to end this app is a must-have for anyone interested in astronomy!!" "This app is a marvel of technology, art, and science. Super smooth operation, great graphics and a great merging of the devices capabilities. Having grown up using star charts and compasses, this app feels like science fiction come to life. Great job!" "Looking at the sky was never this incredible!" "If you download only one app, make sure it's this one!! This is one of the best apps I've ever seen, period! Its quality is unmatched among star gazing apps!" ======================== Features: • Augmented Reality Star Gazing with gyroscope! Just hold up the device. • Sun, Moon, planets and 8000+ stars visible to the naked eyes. • 88 Constellations & 100+ deep sky objects with magnificent graphics. • All data is offline! • Search and Lock the objects in Solar system, 12 Zodiac Constellations, 88 Constellations, Deep Sky Objects and Famous Stars. • 3D compass in AR mode, indicate position of objects your searched. • Location auto set by GPS, or set manually. • Time Machine. Time and date can be adjusted smoothly. • Capture a screenshot and share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or save to Photos. • Smooth motion flow and quick response which is realized by cutting edge signal processing technique. • Superb high quality graphics with full screen anti-aliasing. Usage: • Bottom Right: Hide/Show Main Setting Menu, settings for name display, constellation, deep sky object, night mode, star amount and grid mode. • Top Right: Search Menu (Solar system, 12 Zodiac and 88 Constellations, Deep Sky Object and Famous Stars) • Top Left: Location Menu, choose location from a world map. Below is the Share button. • Top bar: Time Machine Menu, adjust any time/date. • Bottom Left: AR Compass indicator in AR track mode, pan the screen to enter un-track mode and click track button to back. Tips: • When search any object under un-track mode, it will be locked at the center of the screen, then user can adjust time/date to see changes of the related sky. • When under un-track mode, just lift up the screen and point it to the sky to enter AR track mode.

About

acmqueue

This publication offers in-depth technical articles and case studies for software engineers, focusing on emerging technologies and challenges. It provides critical insights to guide better engineering and design choices, keeping practitioners informed about the future of the field.

Highlights
  • In-depth technical articles
  • Case studies on emerging technologies
  • Focus on future challenges
  • Guidance for engineering and design
  • Bimonthly issues
  • Content for practitioners
Features
Read full description

acmqueue is the ACM's magazine for practicing software engineers. Written by software practitioners and developers for software practitioners and developers, acmqueue focuses on the technical problems and challenges that loom ahead, helping readers to sharpen their own thinking and pursue innovative solutions. acmqueue does not focus on either industry news or the latest "solutions." Rather, the technical articles, columns and case studies take a critical look at current and emerging technologies, highlighting challenges and hurdles that are likely to arise and posing questions that software engineers should be thinking about. acmqueue is the best way for practicing software engineers to keep up with the field. Each bimonthly issue comes packed with solid, well-grounded content developed with an eye to keeping readers informed and guiding better engineering and design choices. Free for ACM members. Single issue subscription for non-members is $6.99 Free for ACM members. A yearly subscription for non-members is $19.99 Terms of Use: https://libraries.acm.org/digital-library/policies Privacy policy: https://queue.acm.org/privacypolicy.cfm

Screenshots

acmqueue4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: StarTracker HD at 59% against acmqueue's 9%. StarTracker HD also leads on rating (4.0 vs 1.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 23). acmqueue's advantage is price (Free vs $3.99) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and iOS requirement 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

acmqueue is free to download; StarTracker HD costs $3.99 up front. acmqueue sells 23 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. StarTracker HD asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StarTracker HD holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StarTracker HD has 43 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of StarTracker HD's written reviews are positive against 9% of acmqueue's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StarTracker HD ships an update every 5 months, acmqueue every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on June 9, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
StarTracker HD versus acmqueue: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarTracker HDacmqueue
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (43 ratings) — better1.6 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews59.4% of reviews — better9.1% of reviews
Number of ratings43 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB78 MB
Age rating4+12+
Developer身吉 潘Association for Computing Machinery

Customer experience

StarTracker HD

All ratings43 ratings
Positive74.4%
Neutral4.7%
Negative20.9%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive59.4%
Neutral12.5%
Negative28.1%

acmqueue

All ratings8 ratings
Positive12.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative87.5%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive9.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative90.9%

Bugs and requests

StarTracker HD

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on startup or during use
  • Compass direction incorrect (north pointing wrong direction)
  • Gyroscope not responding or locked
  • Share button causes crashes
  • Forward/share button greying out and causing screen loss
Show 10 more
  • Screen display only showing bottom right corner on iPad Pro 12.9
  • App spinning continuously without stopping
  • Screen orientation lock issues after iOS updates
  • Duplicate app installations appearing
  • iPad 2 compatibility issues despite gyroscope presence
  • Inaccurate celestial object positioning (e.g., M71 placement)
  • Sun position showing incorrectly during daytime
  • Ursa Minor not rotating properly over 24-hour period
  • Menu disappearing after using forward button
  • Half-screen display stuck after exploring tools

Requested features

13 requests
  • Add search functionality for celestial objects
  • Include ISS and satellite tracking
  • Display object information (distance, magnitude, color, brightness)
  • Add ecliptic line visibility option
  • Show coordinate information (RA, Dec, Alt, Azimuth)
Show 8 more
  • Tap-to-identify popup descriptions for objects
  • Add grid markings and horizon line with directional labels
  • Better zoom control with more detailed object information
  • Ability to manually rotate and correct star map
  • Offline functionality without WiFi requirement
  • Remove or disable astrology content
  • Project capability for classroom screens
  • iPhone version availability

acmqueue

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

StarTracker HD

No in-app purchases

23 purchases

acmqueue

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Subscription$19.991 Year
One-time22
  • September/October 2015$6.99
  • November/December 2015$6.99
  • January/February 2016$6.99
Show 19 more
  • May/June 2016$6.99
  • September/October 2016$6.99
  • November/December 2016$6.99
  • March/April 2018$6.99
  • November/December 2019$6.99
  • September/October 2023$6.99
  • November/December 2023$6.99
  • January/February 2024$6.99
  • March/April 2024$6.99
  • November/December 2025$6.99
  • January/February 2026$6.99
  • September/October 2025$6.99
  • July/August 2025$6.99
  • May/June 2025$6.99
  • March/April 2025$6.99
  • January/February 2025$6.99
  • November/December 2024$6.99
  • July/August 2024$6.99
  • May/June 2024$6.99

Questions

Is StarTracker HD free?
StarTracker HD costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is acmqueue free?
acmqueue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, StarTracker HD or acmqueue?
StarTracker HD is rated higher. StarTracker HD averages 4.0 out of 5 from 43 ratings, while acmqueue averages 1.6 from 8 ratings.
Do StarTracker HD or acmqueue have ads?
Neither StarTracker HD nor acmqueue shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StarTracker HD or acmqueue?
StarTracker HD ships an update every 5 months, and acmqueue every 11 months. Most recently, StarTracker HD was updated on June 9, 2026 and acmqueue on June 1, 2026.

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