Comparison

Back in Time for iPhone vs Universe in a Nutshell

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

Universe in a Nutshell

Explore the vastness of the universe, from subatomic particles to distant galaxies, through an interactive, swipe-based journey. Understand true scale by comparing objects and discover fascinating facts about over 250 animated illustrations. Immerse yourself in the cosmos with original music.

Highlights
  • Interactive scale exploration
  • Seamless zooming from 10^-35m to 10^26m
  • Fun facts about objects
  • Explanations for each object
  • Over 250 animated illustrations
  • Original music soundtrack
Features
Read full description

The range of size in the universe, from the tiniest particles to the epic galaxies - we take you on a journey of size that lets you explore it all with a single swipe. How big is a planet, compared to a human? And how small is an atom really? You can’t fully wrap your head around the scope of things by just reading about them – so this app lets you experience them in comparison to get a feeling for their true scale. By simply swiping you can zoom in and out all the way from the world of fundamental particles up to the largest stars at the edge of the observable universe. Seamless zooming between the scales of 10^-35 meters to 10^26 meters (no math required) Amazing fun facts for various scale levels, like the smallest bacterium and the largest black hole Tap any object for an explanation of what it is and how it works Beautifully animated illustration of more than 250 objects Original Kurzgesagt music to complement your experience

Screenshots

Back in Time for iPhone4 screens
Universe in a Nutshell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Universe in a Nutshell at 4.9 against Back in Time for iPhone's 3.8. Universe in a Nutshell also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 16). On ads and in-app purchases 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 Universe in a Nutshell $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Universe in a Nutshell holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Universe in a Nutshell has 2.5K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Back in Time for iPhone's written reviews are positive against 89% of Universe in a Nutshell's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Back in Time for iPhone ships an update every 8 months, Universe in a Nutshell every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Back in Time for iPhone versus Universe in a Nutshell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBack in Time for iPhoneUniverse in a Nutshell
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating3.8 (16 ratings)4.9 (2.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.7% of reviews89.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings162.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size625 MB320 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLandkain a nutshell - kurzgesagt GmbH

Customer experience

Back in Time for iPhone

All ratings15 ratings
Positive73.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive71.7%
Neutral5.7%
Negative22.6%

Universe in a Nutshell

All ratings2,508 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews449 reviews
Positive89.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative7.8%

Bugs and requests

Back in Time for iPhone

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Universe in a Nutshell

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on launch for some users
  • Overlapping hit boxes make it difficult to select certain objects

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more objects to explore (e.g. Uranus, Eris, more moons, etc.)
  • Implement a search function to quickly find specific objects
  • Add the ability to compare multiple objects side-by-side
  • Include more in-depth scientific information and facts
  • Provide an option to have the descriptions read aloud
Show 1 more
  • Improve the smoothness of zooming and panning

In-app purchases

None

Back in Time for iPhone

No in-app purchases

None

Universe in a Nutshell

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 Universe in a Nutshell free?
Universe in a Nutshell costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Back in Time for iPhone or Universe in a Nutshell?
Universe in a Nutshell is rated higher. Back in Time for iPhone averages 3.8 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Universe in a Nutshell averages 4.9 from 2.5K ratings.
Do Back in Time for iPhone or Universe in a Nutshell have ads?
Neither Back in Time for iPhone nor Universe in a Nutshell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Back in Time for iPhone or Universe in a Nutshell?
Back in Time for iPhone ships an update every 8 months, and Universe in a Nutshell every 4 days. Most recently, Back in Time for iPhone was updated on October 23, 2026 and Universe in a Nutshell on October 29, 2026.

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