Comparison

Backcast vs PHEC Podcast Community

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Backcast

This platform connects users to share visionary ideas and transform them into actionable research themes. Engage in discussions within specialized forums, contribute your insights, or create your own topic to foster collective intelligence and collaboration.

Highlights
  • Explore 'Trees of Interest' forums
  • Engage in discussions and share insights
  • Create and manage your own topic trees
  • Personalized content feed
  • Connect with users for collaboration
  • Develop actionable research themes
Features
Read full description

Join a community of thinkers, dreamers, and performers in Backcast, the pioneering platform designed to turn your visionary wishes, no matter how big or small, into actionable research themes and technological breakthroughs. Your ideas are the sparks that ignite change, and with Backcast, we bring them to life! How to use this app: 1. Explore Trees of Interest: Begin by searching for keywords that align with your interests. This will display 'trees' - our unique forums where specific themes are discussed. In these trees, you can engage in rich conversations about visions, approaches, and technologies with a community of individuals with a common interest. 2. Share Your Thoughts: Join any tree that resonates with your ideas and contribute your thoughts. Your insights and perspectives are valuable in shaping the collective understanding of the theme. 3. Create Your Own Tree: Have a vision for a specific future? Start your own tree and invite others to add their ideas and insights. Your tree is a space for nurturing and growing concepts that can one day become reality. 4. Personalised Feed: Your home screen feed will present you with topics, discussions in trees, and comments based on the tags you've selected. This tailored experience ensures you're always in the loop with discussions that matter most to you. 5. Connect and Collaborate: Found individuals whose technology interests align with your company's goals? Follow them, connect, and start a conversation. Backcast is not just about sharing ideas; it's a gateway to meaningful collaborations and partnerships. 6. Backcast is more than an app – it's a movement towards a future shaped by collective intelligence and shared visions. Join us, share your ideas, and be part of the change you wish to see in the world. Why I am developing this app: I want to be a researcher who develops technology that will impact the world. However, I need to know what will be required in the future to conduct impactful research. Otherwise, I will not be able to formulate sound research themes. If you become a researcher directly from a university, you will have more difficulty grasping the world's needs than someone working in a company. On the other hand, if you work for a company after leaving university, you may worry about falling behind as a researcher during that period. I decided to plan this application to solve this problem and to create a system that makes it easier for university researchers to formulate research themes that will lead to solutions to future issues in the world. I used the backcasting method as a reference. This is a method of thinking about what a particular area (e.g., physical health, environmentally friendly transportation) should look like in the future (e.g., 10 or 20 years from now), what approaches are needed to realise that ideal image, and what technologies will be required to learn those approaches. The "what technology is needed" part is the research theme that will contribute to the world. However, I also learnt that this method of backcasting is complex. If you think only about yourself and those close to you, you will think about the ideal future that affirms what you want to do and be biased. Therefore, I decided to create this application, thinking that it would be a good idea if we could create a mechanism to share our ideas of what we believe the future should look like, the approaches and technologies to reach them, and then widely exchange opinions.

About

PHEC Podcast Community

Connect and collaborate with public health professionals globally. Share insights, resources, and opportunities in a focused environment designed for meaningful professional development and networking, free from social media distractions.

Highlights
  • Connect with public health peers
  • Access exclusive resources
  • Engage with industry leaders
  • Share challenges and solutions
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Focused networking
Features
Read full description

The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast Community is an interactive digital space where public health professionals connect, collaborate, and grow beyond the weekly podcast episodes. Here, you'll join a global network of public health practitioners sharing insights, resources, and opportunities in a focused environment free from social media distractions. The PHEC Podcast Community is a digital space where public health professionals can: • Connect with peers across specialties, from epidemiologists and researchers to program managers and health educators •Access exclusive resources, discussions, and insights not available on the public podcast •Engage directly with industry leaders and podcast guests in regular live sessions •Share challenges, solutions, and opportunities in a supportive environment •Advance your career through focused networking and professional development Unlike crowded social media platforms with competing priorities and algorithms, this space is exclusively designed for public health professionals who want meaningful connections and conversations that matter. Join a global community of public health practitioners who are passionate about making a difference—just like you.

Screenshots

Backcast4 screens
PHEC Podcast Community3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Backcast at every 5 weeks against PHEC Podcast Community's every 6 months. Backcast also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). PHEC Podcast Community's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Backcast against 5.0 for PHEC Podcast Community. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backcast ships an update every 5 weeks, PHEC Podcast Community every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Backcast versus PHEC Podcast Community: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackcastPHEC Podcast Community
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB94 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperHikari SuwaDrCHHuntley, LLC

Customer experience

Backcast

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PHEC Podcast Community

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Backcast

No in-app purchases

None

PHEC Podcast Community

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backcast free?
Backcast is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PHEC Podcast Community free?
PHEC Podcast Community is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backcast or PHEC Podcast Community?
Backcast and PHEC Podcast Community are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Backcast or PHEC Podcast Community have ads?
Neither Backcast nor PHEC Podcast Community shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backcast or PHEC Podcast Community?
Backcast ships an update every 5 weeks, and PHEC Podcast Community every 6 months. Most recently, Backcast was updated on October 14, 2026 and PHEC Podcast Community on October 5, 2026.

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