# SOS Remote vs Earth

The clearest difference is rating: SOS Remote at 5.0 against Earth's 4.6. SOS Remote also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 74%). Earth's advantage is ratings volume (42 vs 2) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 8 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

SOS Remote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Earth has 42 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of SOS Remote's written reviews are positive against 74% of Earth's.

SOS Remote ships an update every 8 months, Earth every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SOS Remote | Earth |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sos-remote/id476665630/reviews)** | [4.6 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earth-now/id494633346/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **42** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 73.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | **Every 4 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 4 MB | 181 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [NOAA Science On a Sphere](https://appshunter.io/developer/476665633) | [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https://appshunter.io/developer/347075767) |

## What reviewers say

### SOS Remote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sos-remote/id476665630)

Control a Science On a Sphere® system with your mobile device. Adjust sphere orientation, manage datasets, and enhance presentations with interactive features. Ideal for educational settings.

**Highlights:** Adjust sphere orientation, Control dataset playback, Load presentation playlists, Search and browse data catalog, View dataset descriptions, Create presentation playlists, Draw on and zoom datasets, Dynamically adjust dataset layers

**In-app purchases:** none


### Earth

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earth-now/id494633346)

Visualize global climate data from NASA satellites, including temperature, CO2, and sea level. Explore 3D Earth models with interactive controls and color-coded maps to understand environmental conditions.

**Highlights:** Global climate data visualization, Satellite data from Earth Science, Surface air temperature maps, CO2 and CO levels, Ozone and water vapor data, Gravity and sea level variations, Interactive 3D Earth model

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌍 Real-time Earth data visualization
- 👍 User-friendly interface and easy navigation
- 🎨 Beautiful and mesmerizing graphics
- 📊 Comprehensive satellite data from NASA/JPL
- 🆓 Free access to scientific information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes on older devices
- ⏳ Slow loading times on poor internet
- 🔍 Difficult to understand without scientific background
- 🗺️ Antarctica and polar regions blacked out/missing
- 📐 Zooming and scrolling too sensitive

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup or during use
- Endless 'Loading model' message
- Crashes on iPhone 4 and older devices
- Pixel doubler requirement on iPad
- No landscape orientation support

**Requested features**

- Celsius/Kelvin temperature unit options
- Satellite information (height, launch date)
- ISS tracking capability
- Ocean current visualization
- Ice sheet data layers


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SOS Remote free?

SOS Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Earth free?

Earth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SOS Remote or Earth?

SOS Remote is rated higher. SOS Remote averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Earth averages 4.6 from 42 ratings.

### Do SOS Remote or Earth have ads?

Neither SOS Remote nor Earth shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SOS Remote or Earth?

SOS Remote ships an update every 8 months, and Earth every 4 months. Most recently, SOS Remote was updated on October 12, 2026 and Earth on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*