Back in Time for iPhone vs HKBUniverse
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Interactive timelines
- Over 350 images
- 60+ animations and videos
- 200+ interesting facts
- Offline access
- Multilingual support
Read full descriptionHide 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.
HKBUniverse
Read full descriptionHide full description
HKBUniverse is an immersive AI-enabled virtual environment that facilitates cross-discipline and cross-boundary teaching and learning via collaboration and interaction among students, faculty, and external partners from different disciplines. It is an ongoing project developed from the ground up to reflect its own virtue and values, with the contribution of HKBU faculty's expertise and the participation of industry professionals. It provides a space where students and staff can meet, communicate, and collaborate.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: HKBUniverse at Free against Back in Time for iPhone's $4.99. HKBUniverse also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 8 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases 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
HKBUniverse is free to download; Back in Time for iPhone costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Back in Time for iPhone ships an update every 8 months, HKBUniverse every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Back in Time for iPhone | HKBUniverse |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.8 (16 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 71.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 625 MB | 1.8 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Landka | Hong Kong Baptist University |
In-app purchases
Back in Time for iPhone
No in-app purchases
HKBUniverse
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Back in Time for iPhone free?
Is HKBUniverse free?
Do Back in Time for iPhone or HKBUniverse have ads?
Which is updated more often, Back in Time for iPhone or HKBUniverse?
Other comparisons















