Comparison

Back in Time vs The Solar System

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

Head to head
About

Back in Time

Explore the history of the Universe, Earth, Life, and Civilization through an immersive, interactive journey. This app uses custom animations, timelines, and interesting facts to bring historical events to life. It's designed to help users understand the connections between events and see the bigger picture.

Highlights
  • Interactive timeline of events
  • Custom animations and videos
  • Over 350 remarkable images
  • Little-known interesting facts
  • Offline access
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

• "The coolest history textbook you’ll find on the iPad" - The New York Times • Winner of the WSA Mobile Award • Top1 iPad Book in US, UK, FR, ES, China… and 34 more Countries • Featured by The New York Times (Top10 iPad Apps of the year) • Featured by the American Photo Magazine (Top 10 Photo eBooks of the year) For iPhone/iPod touch download - Back in Time for iPhone Back in Time will take you on a stunning exploration of the history of our Universe, Earth, Life and Civilization. A journey through time where each event is documented with social and historical context, several images, an illustrative timeline and little-known interesting facts. Custom made animations bring those events to life, creating an interesting, immersive learning experience. An imaginary clock will guide you through this quest, proposing a simple analogy: the entire Universe started 24 hours ago. The Big Bang, the source of time and space, is the first event in our journey – the clock reads 0:00 hours. Today, 13.7 billion years later, the clock reads midnight. In between is a sequence of key events that has brought us to where we are today. Explore them, place them in perspective, see how they relate and understand the connections. We invite you to take a step back and see the whole picture. :::: REVIEWS :::: “...a beautifully executed lesson on the history of the universe and the evolution of life on earth. Great for high school students or parents who’d like to tutor younger children and enjoy a first-rate experience of their own...” - Bob Tedeschi, The New York Times “The iPad could use more apps like this one.” - The Daily “...the best iPad apps are those that combine coffee table-styled books with the fluid nature of the iPad’s interface. Back in Time is just that, it’s the story of the entire history of our universe made interactive on the iPad.” - Casey Chan, Gizmodo (App of the Day) “Back in Time is utterly gorgeous in its presentation. (...) The app is so easy to navigate that it is a delight to explore. Landka could scarcely have done a better job in putting everything together.” - Gwen Phua, Appmodo :::: FEATURES :::: Designed for iPad; 47 chapters; Over 350 remarkable images; 60+ amazing animations and videos; 40+ illustrated timelines; More than 200 little-known interesting facts; Music by the composer Rodrigo Leão; Developed in 7 different languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese); No internet connection required.

About

The Solar System

Features
Read full description

Use the latest in AR technology to bring the entire solar system right into your immediate environment with this augmented reality app. Imagine the immersive thrill of an augmented reality experience for your students who are studying the solar system. Walk around and move forward and back to get close-up views of each planet. The Solar System - AR adds a whole new dimension for science teachers who want to engage their students by providing unique learning experiences. Use the slider to select a planet in order to view it more closely and to learn about the planet by reading interesting information. The Solar System - AR uses Apple's ARKit and allows you to instantly view and learn about the solar system. It perfect for classrooms and will help get kids excited about exploring the information provided about each planet. In addition, tables of information are presented when icons are tapped. The information for each planet includes: length of day, distance from the sun, diameter, number of moons and mass. Note: Since camera access is required for AR experience please make sure that Settings -> General -> Restrictions -> Camera is set to allow access to the iPad camera.

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: The Solar System at $1.99 against Back in Time's $7.99. The Solar System also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Back in Time's advantage is update cadence (every 7 months vs every 29 months). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Back in Time costs $7.99 and The Solar System $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, The Solar System every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Back in Time versus The Solar System: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBack in TimeThe Solar System
Price$7.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.7 (27 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings27 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 29 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size836 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLandkaVentura Educational Systems

In-app purchases

None

Back in Time

No in-app purchases

None

The Solar System

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Back in Time free?
Back in Time costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Solar System free?
The Solar System costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Back in Time or The Solar System have ads?
Neither Back in Time nor The Solar System shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Back in Time or The Solar System?
Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, and The Solar System every 29 months. Most recently, Back in Time was updated on October 24, 2026 and The Solar System on October 14, 2026.

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