Magic Hour vs NANLINK
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic Hour
This app helps photographers and cinematographers find the optimal times for shooting around sunrise and sunset. It provides precise calculations for 'magic hour' based on your location and offers moon phase information. Optional in-app purchases unlock advanced features like location selection and calendar integration.
- Magic hour time calculation
- Sunrise and sunset times
- Moonrise and full moon alerts
- Weather forecast integration
- Customizable notifications
- Location-based planning
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Magic Hour (also called golden hour) is the time of day around sunrise and sunset when the light is great for photography and cinematography. It is typically when the sun is between 6 degrees below the horizon to 6 degrees above. This sunlight is evenly dispersed and helps you create great pictures. Magic Hour makes it easy for you to know when magic hour is coming and how much time you have left once it begins. The app takes your location along with the current day and calculates when magic hour will occur. If the weather forecast is available we give that to you as well. What other light is cool to photograph in? The moon, of course. And you want a full moon for that. Our Moon Watch section lets you know the next moonrise and when the next full moon will appear. In addition to this, you can set up notifications on and before magic hour begins. And with our in-app purchase you can select locations other than your current one, view future magic hour times, and create calendar events for them. Data that is used with the Magic Hour App (e.g. locations, notifications, calendar events, etc.) remain local to your device and are not transmitted nor remotely stored.
NANLINK
Control lighting fixtures wirelessly via Bluetooth or 2.4G. Create complex lighting effects for film and video production by managing individual or multiple lights simultaneously. Enhance production efficiency with intuitive scenario and group-based controls.
- Wireless lighting control
- Bluetooth and 2.4G support
- Individual fixture control
- Synchronous multi-fixture control
- Scenario and group management
- Create lighting effects
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NANLINK APP, a wireless lighting control application designed and developed by Guangdong Nanguang Photo&Video Systems Co.,Ltd, allows for controlling light fixtures via Bluetooth Network and 2.4G Wireless Protocol. The APP is compatible with devices that run on IOS and iPadOS operating systems. Based on the design concept of scenario and group, NANLINK can assist gaffers and cinematographers with the creation of fascinating lighting effects through the full control of individual fixture and multiple fixtures synchronously, thus to achieve more production efficiency at the shooting scenes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Magic Hour at 77% against NANLINK's 19%. Magic Hour also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.1) and ratings volume (5.2K vs 92). NANLINK's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Magic Hour sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NANLINK asks for nothing beyond the download.
Magic Hour holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic Hour has 5.2K ratings behind it against 92, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Magic Hour's written reviews are positive against 19% of NANLINK's.
Magic Hour ships an update every 2 months, NANLINK fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic Hour | NANLINK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.2K ratings) — better | 2.1 (92 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews — better | 19.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.2K — better | 92 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 82 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linda Byrket | Guangdong Nanguang Photo&Video Systems Co., Ltd |
Customer experience
Magic Hour
NANLINK
User reviews
Magic Hour
From 5.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great overview of the entire Magic Hour
- 👍 Fantastic in every way
- 👍 All the info you need to plan, especially for photographers
- 👍 Sleek and easy to use
- 👍 Perfect for photographers and cinematographers
Room to improve
- ⏰ Time way off
- 🔍 Can't change location
- 🐛 Crashes all the time
- 💰 Forced in-app purchase
- 🔍 Can't see future dates anymore
NANLINK
From 92 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy setup and connection (recent reviews)
- 🚀 Instant light control
- 🎨 Full color controls with multiple inputs
- 🗂️ Separate fixture groups are handy
- 🗄️ Presets save full HSL and intensity
Room to improve
- 🐛 Lights spontaneously lose connection
- 🐛 Short delay before settings appear
- 🐛 UX overhaul needed, hard to find settings
- 🐛 Presets buried deep in menus
- 🐛 App doesn't have adaptive interface for iPads
Bugs and requests
Magic Hour
Reported bugs
8 issues- 🐛 Time way off
- 🐛 Can't change location
- 🐛 Crashes all the time
- 🐛 Can't see future dates anymore
- 🐛 Widget doesn't update
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 🐛 Keeps crashing
- 🐛 Can't determine magic hour at another location
- 🐛 App crashes
Requested features
7 requests- 💡 Moonrise notification
- 💡 Notification when magic hour ends
- 💡 Blue hour option
- 💡 Allow users to set their own background photo
- 💡 Ability to plan shoots in different locations
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- 💡 Companion app for planning sunsets weeks in advance
- 💡 Custom alert tones
NANLINK
Reported bugs
59 issues- Lights spontaneously lose connection
- Short delay between tapping light and settings appearing
- Presets buried several levels deep
- Lights spontaneously lose connection
- Short delay between tapping into a light and the settings coming up
Show 54 moreShow fewer
- Fixture groups not working after upgrading to Nanlink 2.0
- Lose signal if further than 8ft from unit
- App lagging and poorly working
- Constantly drops connection
- App constantly crashes
- Recent update erased presets
- Grouping issues after update
- Cannot add fixtures to groups
- App won't work without supplying personal info
- Layout doesn't adapt well to iPad, wasted space
- Login difficult, fields won't allow pasting from password manager
- No import of existing scenes on iPad
- App not working with Pavotubes
- Bluetooth not working for T8-7x
- Inconsistent operation, will not pair with lights
- Exiting and reopening app locks up trying to re-pair
- App asks for excessive permissions (photos, emails, texts)
- New update killed presets and dropped connection to all fixtures
- App doesn't work with new iPhones (dynamic island)
- Cannot go back from one tube's settings to the previous screen
- Settings don't seem to save
- CCT mode doesn't work at all
- Driving mode ambient dimming won't work
- Poor Bluetooth connection, short range
- Menu button placement issues (near phone's clock)
- Never saves profiles or auto-connects to fixtures
- App broken with iOS 16.2
- Most of the effects not working
- App can't find FS-150
- Cannot complete registration (activation code never emailed)
- App is abysmal, not user friendly
- Cannot connect to Forza 300b
- Settings changes on iPhone don't affect light
- Lose connection as soon as 2 lights are connected
- App is a complete waste of time, does nothing
- Never responsive, struggles to keep up with changing settings
- Server down, cannot create account or log in
- App crashes on login
- App crashes upon login attempt
- App crashes every time on sign in
- Overrides light values when connecting
- Impossible to fine-tune a light on a set unless connected beforehand
- Won't connect
- Fail connection in groups
- Slow app
- Doesn't see most fixtures
- Cannot get verification code to create an account
- App freezes repeatedly after entering name, password, and verification code
- Cannot login, stuck or frozen at login page
- App freezes repeatedly after entering name password and verification code
- App crashes on login with iPhone 13 pro
- App crashes at login
- App crashes upon login attempt
- App crashes every time on sign in
Requested features
13 requests- Allow individual light adjustment within groups
- Make connection more stable
- Make settings appear instantly
- UX overhaul, make important settings accessible
- Put preset saving feature front and center
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Adaptive interface for iPads
- Master control to adjust all lights simultaneously
- Add a 'Streetlight' mode effect
- Allow users to choose between HSI & CCT control for transmitter box
- Add a demo mode
- Offline mode for app usage
- Gang effects across groups of lights for consistency
- Allow multicolor effects at assignable points
In-app purchases
Magic Hour
- Add Locations Ability$0.99
NANLINK
No in-app purchases
