StarTracker HD vs Planet Rotation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Augmented Reality Star Gazing
- Identify 8000+ stars, planets, and constellations
- Offline data access
- Search and lock celestial objects
- Time Machine feature
- High-quality graphics
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== 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.
Planet Rotation
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The screen at startup is the earth.The equatorial inclination angle of the earth is 23.4 degrees.Equatorial inclination angle is the angle between the equatorial plane and the orbital plane of a planet that revolves while rotating. The equatorial inclination angle of the mercury is 0.027 degrees.The rotation axis is upright almost vertically. The equatorial inclination angle of the venus is 177.36 degrees.The rotation axis is almost completely inverted, and it rotates in the opposite direction. The equatorial inclination angle of the mars is 25 degrees.The axis of rotation is a gradient close to the earth. You can change the rotation speed of the planet.The equatorial inclination angle of the jupiter is 3.08 degrees.The rotation axis is upright almost vertically. When you press the button, the angle of the sun changes by 30 degrees each time. The fastest thing is one revolution per second.The slowest thing is one rotation in 300 seconds (5 minutes). When checked, reverse rotation will occur.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Planet Rotation at $0.99 against StarTracker HD's $3.99. Planet Rotation also leads on device support (3 vs 1). StarTracker HD's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
StarTracker HD costs $3.99 and Planet Rotation $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
StarTracker HD ships an update every 5 months, Planet Rotation every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StarTracker HD | Planet Rotation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (43 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 59.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 43 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 10 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 身吉 潘 | Masahiro Tomosada |
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
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- 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)
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- 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
Planet Rotation
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
StarTracker HD
No in-app purchases
Planet Rotation
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is StarTracker HD free?
Is Planet Rotation free?
Do StarTracker HD or Planet Rotation have ads?
Which is updated more often, StarTracker HD or Planet Rotation?
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