Back in Time vs The Elements in Action
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Interactive timeline of events
- Custom animations and videos
- Over 350 remarkable images
- Little-known interesting facts
- Offline access
- Multilingual support
Read full descriptionHide 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.
The Elements in Action
Explore the fascinating properties of chemical elements through captivating videos. Witness unique demonstrations of their behaviors, from the mundane to the explosive, all presented in an engaging and visually stunning format. This app brings the periodic table to life with scientific curiosity and artistic flair.
- 79 video explorations of element properties
- Demonstrations of element reactions
- High-quality filming by Max Whitby
- Seamless integration with 'The Elements' app
- Multiple language translations
Read full descriptionHide full description
‘One of my favorite science-based apps...The Elements in Action is easy to navigate and attractively designed.’ – The New York Times The periodic table comes to life with 79 video explorations of the weird, wonderful, and sometimes alarming properties of the elements. Filmed by BAFTA award winner Max Whitby in partnership with Theodore Gray, author of the iconic book and app The Elements, and previously available only in a few museum installations, this is the most beautifully filmed collection of videos ever assembled to explore and explain what makes each element unique and fascinating. What happens when highly reactive rubidium is dropped into water? Or when a cannonball is placed in a pool of mercury? The Elements in Action shows you one definitive demonstration for (almost) every element, ranging from the bizarre to the sublime, all assembled in one place for you to view in the comfort and safety of your iPad, with very little danger of death by fire, dismemberment, or poisoning. The Elements in Action works as a stand-alone app, but really shines when combined with the original app, The Elements by Theodore Gray. Installed together, the two apps find each other and link together, allowing you to flip seamlessly between viewing the elements as objects of contemplation in the original, and objects of dynamic action in the second. Now fully translated into: English, Catalan, Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Screenshots
Verdict
Back in Time and The Elements in Action both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 84% of Back in Time's written reviews are positive against 60% of The Elements in Action's. The Elements in Action's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $7.99) and device support (3 vs 1). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Back in Time costs $7.99 and The Elements in Action $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Back in Time holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 33 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Back in Time's written reviews are positive against 60% of The Elements in Action's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on June 9, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Back in Time | The Elements in Action |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (25 ratings) — better | 4.4 (33 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.7% of reviews — better | 59.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 25 | 33 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 836 MB | 555 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Landka | NatureGuides Ltd. |
Customer experience
Back in Time
The Elements in Action
In-app purchases
Back in Time
No in-app purchases
The Elements in Action
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Back in Time free?
Is The Elements in Action free?
Which has better reviews, Back in Time or The Elements in Action?
Do Back in Time or The Elements in Action have ads?
Which is updated more often, Back in Time or The Elements in Action?
Other comparisons















