Comparison

Starlight Clock vs Polaris

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

Head to head
About

Starlight Clock

Features
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This is a digital and analog clock application with a starry sky motif. The constellation changes every hour. You can also set events in which locomotives appear at 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60 minute intervals. Sometimes shooting stars also stream. ***** The time text, analog clock, and constellations can be moved with the fingers. The analog clock and constellations can be zoomed in and out with two fingers. Seconds can also be displayed. Touching the time character switches to setting mode. The date and time can be changed to various formats by touching it in the setting mode. The display can be switched between 12-hour and 24-hour formats. Screen rotation in portrait and landscape orientation is also supported. By pressing buttons such as "2X" and "3X," the font size can be adjusted in steps. You can choose from 24 different constellations. The order of the constellations can be set to change randomly as well as in a predetermined order. The time signal can be set to one of 79 different tones.

About

Polaris

Features
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Polaris turns the night sky as it actually looks from where you are into a living Home Screen widget — a quiet planetarium clock. ā–  A real sky It plots ~9,000 stars from the Yale Bright Star Catalog, computed from your chosen city's latitude, longitude and sidereal time, so what's rising and where is faithful to the real sky right now. Star brightness and color (blue-white to orange) are true to life. No location permission needed — just pick a city. ā–  Clock & calendar Layer an analog clock (10 frames Ɨ 5 hands Ɨ date fonts) or a digital clock (8 typefaces) over the stars. A monthly calendar and a corner date/weekday are available too. ā–  More of the sky • Shooting stars streak by now and then • Star names label the bright ones — Sirius, Vega, and more • Constellation lines connect figures like Orion and the Big Dipper ā–  Widgets Small, medium, large and extra-large are all supported. Each size saves its own design, so you can compose your Home Screen exactly how you like. There's also a clock-free "sky only" widget. ā–  Details • Pure black background — quiet and striking on OLED • Switch between English and Japanese inside the app • 39 cities worldwide, plus automatic detection A bedside clock. The centerpiece of your Home Screen. The night sky, always in your hand.

Screenshots

Starlight Clock4 screens
Polaris3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Polaris at none against Starlight Clock's 1. Polaris also leads on ads (none vs shown). Starlight Clock's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Starlight Clock sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Polaris asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Starlight Clock versus Polaris: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarlight ClockPolaris
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMihoko ArakiRyohei Horiuchi

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Starlight Clock

One-time1
  • Starlight Clock with no ads$2.99
None

Polaris

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starlight Clock free?
Starlight Clock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Polaris free?
Polaris is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Starlight Clock or Polaris have ads?
Starlight Clock shows ads; Polaris does not.
Which is updated more often, Starlight Clock or Polaris?
Starlight Clock ships an update every 3 months, and Polaris every 3 months. Most recently, Starlight Clock was updated on November 3, 2026 and Polaris on October 31, 2026.

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