Sky Guide vs IPC Shows
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sky Guide
Identify stars, constellations, planets, and satellites in real-time by holding your device overhead. Explore celestial bodies with AR overlays, track satellites like the ISS, and travel through time to view past and future astronomical events. Perfect for both novice and experienced stargazers.
- Automatic celestial object identification
- Augmented reality sky overlay
- Satellite tracking and notifications
- Time travel for past/future viewing
- Personalized astronomical event calendar
- Offline functionality
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Bring the beauty of the stars down to Earth. Hold Sky Guide® overhead to automatically identify any star, constellation, planet or satellite! Easy to use and powerful, it’s epic stargazing for any experience level. Is it a star or the planet Mars? Knowing what’s up in your night sky is easier than ever. Sky Guide’s AR mode superimposes figures onto your real sky so visualizing the heavens becomes effortless. Have you ever wished you could recognize constellations but didn’t want to fumble around with paper star charts? Now you can. A speck of light crosses the night sky, growing brighter. What could it be? You don’t have to wonder anymore. Track a bright satellite and receive perfectly-timed notifications whenever the International Space Station is about to fly over your location. With Sky Guide, you’ll be saying ‘Goodbye, aliens’ and ‘Hellooooo, astronauts!’ Voyage to the past or future with cinematic time controls. Know where the Moon will be later in the evening so you can capture that perfect photo or be an eyewitness to history’s greatest comets. Whether you’re searching for Sagittarius, Saturn, or the next big meteor shower, Sky Guide is jam-packed with information and rich graphics that will satisfy the most curious minds. Plus, stay current with location-filtered events like solar and lunar eclipses with Sky Guide’s personalized Calendar. Camping in the backcountry? Sky Guide can function with or without Wi-Fi, cellular service or GPS, so everything is at your fingertips no matter where you go. Join the millions who have discovered a more personal connection to the stars with Sky Guide. It might forever change the way you look up. Terms of Use: https://www.fifthstarlabs.com/terms-of-use
IPC Shows
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IPC is a global trade association dedicated to furthering the competitive excellence and financial success of its members, who are participants in the electronics industry. In pursuit of these objectives, IPC will devote resources to management improvement and technology enhancement programs, the creation of relevant standards, protection of the environment, and pertinent government relations.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: IPC Shows at none against Sky Guide's 6. IPC Shows also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 18.0). Sky Guide's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On price 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
Both are free to download. Sky Guide sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. IPC Shows asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sky Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, IPC Shows every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sky Guide | IPC Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (377K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 86.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 377K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #24 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 380 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Fifth Star Labs LLC | IPC International, Inc. |
Bugs and requests
Sky Guide
Reported bugs
2 issues- App freezes when near polar regions
- Occasional crashes or performance issues
Requested features
5 requests- Add more detailed information on moons of planets
- Implement mosaic planning tools for astrophotography
- Provide earlier notifications for satellite/ISS passes
- Allow users to share their observations and photos
- Improve integration with telescope/camera equipment
IPC Shows
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sky Guide
- PLUS$4.991 Month
- PRO$8.991 Month
- PLUS7 Days trial$39.991 Year
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- PRO7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- All Constellations$1.99
- PRO Lifetime$249.99
IPC Shows
No in-app purchases







