StarTracker HD vs APOD Explorer
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.
APOD Explorer
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Every day, NASA publishes a new astronomy picture or video, with an explanation written by a professional astronomer. APOD Explorer brings it to you with an experience built for exploring the universe, not just looking at it. THE FULL ARCHIVE SINCE 1995 Over 11,000 photos and videos, from the very first APOD to today. Full-text search across titles and explanations, curated tag collections (galaxies, nebulae, eclipses, Earth from space, and many more), and an "On This Day" section showing what was published on this date across the years. READINGS TAILORED TO YOU, ON DEVICE With Apple Intelligence, every explanation can be generated at different reading levels: quick, general, for kids, or for experts. NASA's original explanation can also be translated right on your device — nothing is sent to any server. FAVORITES THAT SYNC Save the photos you love and access them from any of your devices through iCloud. No one else can see them. WIDGETS AND LOCK SCREEN Two widgets — "Picture of the Day" and "Today's Sky" — that refresh themselves every morning, on the Lock Screen too. SHARE WHAT YOU DISCOVER Share the photo or, when the day's APOD is a video, a poster generated from it, straight from the detail view or from the widgets extension. NO ACCOUNTS, NO ADS, NO TRACKING APOD Explorer doesn't require sign-up and doesn't show ads. If you enjoy the app, you can leave a voluntary tip from Settings — a gesture of support that never unlocks features. A daily window into the universe, with NASA's complete archive always in your pocket.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: APOD Explorer at Free against StarTracker HD's $3.99. APOD Explorer also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months). StarTracker HD's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On 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
APOD Explorer is free to download; StarTracker HD costs $3.99 up front. APOD Explorer sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. StarTracker HD asks for nothing beyond the download.
StarTracker HD ships an update every 5 months, APOD Explorer every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StarTracker HD | APOD Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (43 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 67.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 43 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 身吉 潘 | Diego Carrera Alonso |
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
APOD Explorer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
StarTracker HD
No in-app purchases
APOD Explorer
- Lunar tip$1.99
- Planetary tip$3.99
- Stellar tip$8.99
Questions
Is StarTracker HD free?
Is APOD Explorer free?
Do StarTracker HD or APOD Explorer have ads?
Which is updated more often, StarTracker HD or APOD Explorer?
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