Comparison

Back in Time vs Cassini HD

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

Cassini HD

Explore Saturn and its moons through a stunning collection of over 960 NASA images. Navigate an alien world with interactive maps and detailed captions. Save and share your favorite discoveries.

Highlights
  • Over 960 NASA images of Saturn and moons
  • Interactive navigation map and thumbnails
  • Detailed image captions
  • Add images to favorites
  • Save images to photo roll
  • Social media sharing
Features
Read full description

Come on a voyage of discovery to the ringed planet of Saturn with Cassini HD for iPad and iPhone. Navigate a collection of more than 960 spectacular images returned to Earth by NASA's Cassini orbiter while learning about this alien environment in our celestial backyard. The Cassini HD photo collection was carefully selected from thousands of images available courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech. Browsing this collection takes you on a journey from Saturn itself, beyond its stunning rings, and past more than 20 of its moons. Additional information about each image can be revealed with just a tap. With multiple ways to navigate, Cassini HD becomes an immersive experience guided by your own curiosity: an alphabetical men takes you to any point of interest, while a unique navigation map and thumbnails view allow you to easily scroll through this vast collection. Add images to your favorites to access them quickly, or save them to your photo roll to use as wallpaper or enjoy anytime. Integration with social media adds to the fun as you share your discoveries with family and friends. FEATURES • Journey from Saturn itself, to its stunning rings and past more than 20 different moons • Supports both portrait and landscape orientation for optimal viewing quality. • Full captions expand with additional information with just a tap • Alphabetical menu brings you directly to any section of interest; unique navigation map and thumbnails allow you to scroll easily through this vast collection • Integration with the most popular social networks: Share your discoveries with friends on Facebook and Twitter, or via email • Add images to your favorites for easy access • Save your favorite images to your photo roll and use them as a wallpaper on your iPad or iPhone • Future updates will add to this collection the latest images from Cassini as more become available. "I like to know that even if I'm out of Wi-Fi range, I can always take a trip through Saturn's rings." — Carl Zimmer "worth a download" — TUAW "I give it a rating of 10 rings out of 10." — It's Okay To Be Smart "An excellent app that brings the beauty and magic of this planet right to your fingertips." — Earthscanner

Screenshots

Cassini HD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cassini HD at $1.99 against Back in Time's $7.99. Cassini HD also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (94% vs 84%). Back in Time's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (25 vs 6). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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 Cassini HD $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Back in Time holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 6 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Back in Time's written reviews are positive against 94% of Cassini HD's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, Cassini HD every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Back in Time versus Cassini HD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBack in TimeCassini HD
Price$7.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.6 (25 ratings) — better4.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews83.7% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size836 MB124 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLandkaThinx Media Interactive LLC

Customer experience

Back in Time

All ratings25 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive83.7%
Neutral7.0%
Negative9.3%

Cassini HD

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%

In-app purchases

None

Back in Time

No in-app purchases

None

Cassini HD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Back in Time free?
Back in Time costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cassini HD free?
Cassini HD costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Back in Time or Cassini HD?
Back in Time is rated higher. Back in Time averages 4.6 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Cassini HD averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Back in Time or Cassini HD have ads?
Neither Back in Time nor Cassini HD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Back in Time or Cassini HD?
Back in Time ships an update every 7 months, and Cassini HD every 2 months. Most recently, Back in Time was updated on October 7, 2026 and Cassini HD on October 21, 2026.

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