Comparison

Back in Time for iPhone vs SmartStart Early Learning

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 for iPhone

Explore the history of the universe, Earth, life, and civilization through interactive timelines, stunning visuals, and custom animations. This app offers an immersive learning experience with social and historical context for key events.

Highlights
  • Interactive timelines
  • Over 350 images
  • 60+ animations and videos
  • 200+ interesting facts
  • Offline access
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

• "...a beautifully executed lesson on the history of the universe" - The New York Times • Winner of the WSA Mobile Award • Top1 iPhone Book App in 10 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 iPad download - Back in Time 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 - iPad version :::: "The coolest history textbook you’ll find on the iPad" - Bob Tedeschi, The New York Times “The iPad could use more apps like this one.” - The Daily “...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 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 iPhone; 47 chapters; Over 350 remarkable images; 60+ amazing animations and videos; 40+ illustrated timelines; More than 200 little-known interesting facts; Music by the compositor Rodrigo Leão; Developed in 7 different languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese); No internet connection required.

About

SmartStart Early Learning

Features
Read full description

Smart Toddler Puzzles Pro 3D help children learn what all to be studied and needed prior to first grade. Also build and practice cognitive skills, visual spatial skills, shape recognition, as well as tactile and fine motor skills. Also color puzzle encourages eye-hand, fine motor and creative expression skills. Capital letters puzzle includes a piece for each of the twenty-six letters in the alphabet. A colorful picture under each piece shows an image beginning with the same letter, helping to develop letter recognition and pre-reading skills! Also, encourages eye-hand, fine motor and visual perception skills. Similarly lower case letters puzzle also includes 26 letters in the alphabet, helping to develop letter recognition and pre-reading skills! Also, encourages eye-hand, fine motor and visual perception skills. It's truly a FRESH START for puzzles! These 3D designed playfully styled puzzle is like nothing you've seen before! Learn to count in a new and fun way. Match these 3D created puzzle pairs to make mastering numbers as easy as 1, 2, 3. Groups of objects illustrate numbers 1-10, and the puzzles are self-correcting--each piece has only one match that fits--so children can play independently and learn all the while. Phonics teaches letter names and sounds in a fun, interactive way. Appropriate for children who are at least two years old, this learning toy lets little learners to learn the corresponding letter names and sounds by tapping each letter. This colorful puzzle, featuring 9 colorful puzzle pieces designed, allowing children to learn names of the colors as they snap in each puzzle piece. This shapes puzzle will encourage children to develop shape recognition skills. Shapes Puzzle educates and entertains your little one with easy-to-move shapes that snap into place on top of silhouette puzzles. Shapes Puzzle encourages cognitive thinking and fine motor skills, and exposes young minds. Place pieces correctly to trigger names of animal. Enhance matching and listening skills. Ten animal-themed pieces. 3D designed construction. Each animal piece has matching animal shape picture beneath. Eye- and ear-catching puzzle enhances matching and listening skills. Children's favorite foods are elevated to an art form in this colorful wooden puzzle. The idea is for toddlers to learn names of food:: Once children identify the correct puzzle piece, they must use their eye-hand coordination to maneuver the shape into the slot. As the piece is snapped in, children learn name of food from sound. Go, go, go in your choice of vehicle with this colorful 8-piece wooden puzzle! The bright colors will catch your child's interest and the shapes under the pieces will help to solve the puzzle. A great way to practice names of vehicles, hand-eye, fine motor and memory skills. Kids will love playing with this educational jigsaw puzzle presenting the planets of the solar system. Explore the solar system with this unique puzzle while expanding kids knowledge of planets and more. Similarly Ocean life puzzle with all ocean animals. Although it's perfect for preschoolers, many children of kindergarten age and in the early grades also enjoy snapping the 3D puzzle pieces into place and learning alphabets, numbers, phonics, shapes, colors, animals, and many more. Each puzzle piece (letter, number, shape, or any) is 3D designed. As each puzzle piece is snapped in, multimedia audio plays out saying name of puzzle piece. To the point, 3D toddler puzzles help preschoolers and kindergartners more enthusiastic to study and learn. As a result, your child can learn alphabets (capital and lower case), numbers, counting, shapes, colors, phonics, and many more without parent guidance. Educational games for young children is "Delight children through learning." We keep the games simple but magically inviting and nourishing to focus more in studies. We strive to give children just the right balance between education and fun.

Screenshots

Back in Time for iPhone4 screens
SmartStart Early Learning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SmartStart Early Learning at $2.99 against Back in Time for iPhone's $4.99. Back in Time for iPhone's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.6). On update cadence, 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 for iPhone costs $4.99 and SmartStart Early Learning $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Back in Time for iPhone ships an update every 8 months, SmartStart Early Learning every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Back in Time for iPhone versus SmartStart Early Learning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBack in Time for iPhoneSmartStart Early Learning
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating3.8 (16 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings16 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 months — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.6
Further details — not scored
Size625 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLandkaDigiGalaxy

In-app purchases

None

Back in Time for iPhone

No in-app purchases

None

SmartStart Early Learning

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Back in Time for iPhone free?
Back in Time for iPhone costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartStart Early Learning free?
SmartStart Early Learning costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Back in Time for iPhone or SmartStart Early Learning have ads?
Neither Back in Time for iPhone nor SmartStart Early Learning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Back in Time for iPhone or SmartStart Early Learning?
Back in Time for iPhone ships an update every 8 months, and SmartStart Early Learning every 12 months. Most recently, Back in Time for iPhone was updated on October 23, 2026 and SmartStart Early Learning on October 29, 2026.

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