Comparison

Halcyon Dive Systems vs Time to Surface

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

Head to head
About

Halcyon Dive Systems

This app helps divers log, track, and share their underwater experiences. It offers integration with dive computers, personalized settings, and a community forum for connecting with other divers.

Highlights
  • Symbios integration for dive computer settings
  • Detailed dive logging and progress tracking
  • Social logbook for sharing dive stories
  • Connect with a global diving community
  • Personalized dive tips and advice
  • Exclusive benefits for Halcyon owners
Features
Read full description

Explore without limits: Your Ultimate Diving App Dive smarter and safer with the Halcyon App. Enjoy this powerful tool for logging, tracking, and sharing all your diving experiences while experiencing unprecedented integration with your Halcyon computer. With the Haclyon app you have full control over all computer settings, allowing the creation of profiles that include tailored settings and gases, pushed to the computer with the click of a button. You can also enjoy a full-featured "dry-diving" mode to explore all the unique features of our Symbios-connected products. From beginners to seasoned pros, the Halcyon App empowers you to explore the underwater world with confidence, share with our vibrant community, and track your diving progress. Key Features: Symbios Integration: Sync with Symbios-enabled devices, including the Handset, HUD, Rebreather and more. Manage your settings, create saved profiles with tailored settings and gases, track dive profiles, and access advanced metrics. Log Your Dives: Keep a detailed record of your dives. Monitor your progress over time and relive your diving adventures. Social Logbook: Share your dive stories, photos, and achievements with divers worldwide. Stay motivated and inspire others along the way. Diving Community: Connect with divers at any level. Share tips, discover new dive spots, and stay in the loop with the latest dive trends. Personalized Dive Tips: Get advice tailored to your diving experience with helpful tips and tricks, no matter your skill level. Halcyon Owner Benefits: Enjoy exclusive perks if you're a Halcyon owner—priority support, extended warranties, and special offers to get the most out of your gear. Why Choose Halcyon App? The Halcyon App isn’t just for logging and tracking—it’s your gateway to a richer diving experience. With cutting-edge technology, a thriving community, and personalized insights, the Halcyon App helps you dive smarter, stay connected, and explore like never before. Whether you're diving at a technical site or simply enjoying a recreational dive, the app ensures every dive is memorable, safe, and exciting. Stay Connected, Stay Inspired Join a passionate diving community where you can share experiences, connect with fellow divers, and keep up with the latest Halcyon innovations. The Future of Diving Is Here With Symbios Ecosystem integration, the Halcyon App lets you customize and track your gear, log dives, and connect with divers worldwide. Experience the underwater world with the latest tools, all from your phone. For Divers at Every Stage Whether you're just starting out or have hundreds of dives under your belt, the Halcyon App helps you track your dives, manage your gear, and stay in touch with the diving community. Download Halcyon App Today Join the next generation of divers—download Halcyon App and start exploring without limits.

About

Time to Surface

This technical dive planner calculates staged decompression for dives up to 56 meters. It supports multiple bottom gases and one deco bottle, offering detailed gas planning, runtime tracking, and contingency solutions. The app also accounts for repetitive dives and provides a printable wetnote layout.

Highlights
  • Staged decompression planning (15-56m)
  • Support for six bottom gases and one deco gas
  • Twin cylinder configuration
  • Bühlmann ZH-L16C model with adjustable gradient factors
  • Adjustable ppO2 and descent rates
  • Repetitive dive planning
  • Contingency scenario calculations
Features
Read full description

Staged decompression from 15 to 51 metres — deeper to 56 with a warning — on six bottom gases, with one deco bottle. Runtime, stops, minimum gas and both cylinder fills, before you kit up. Free. No in-app purchases, no subscription, no account. WHAT IT PLANS • Staged decompression, 15 m to 51 m, and to 56 m with a warning rather than a refusal • Six bottom gases: EAN32, triox 30/30, EAN28, air, 21/35 and 18/45 • One decompression gas — EAN50 or oxygen — in an AL80, AL50 or AL40 • A second deep segment before the ascent, deeper or shallower than the first • Twin cylinders on the back, yours to pick • Bühlmann ZH-L16C, gradient factors yours to set, 20/85 by default • ppO2 1.2 bar working and 1.6 bar at a stop by default — stricter than the 1.4 most divers trained at. Both adjustable • Descent 20 m/min, 9 m/min to the first stop, 3 m/min between stops, and the last 6 m at 1 m/min. Stops every 3 m with the last at 6 m. All four rates adjustable • Metric or imperial THE GAS PLAN Back gas fill and turn pressure on thirds, halves or all usable, every pressure on the ten-bar grid. Minimum gas — what two divers on one back-gas supply need to leave the deepest point and reach the first deco gas at 3 m/min, with a minute for the problem and a minute for the switch. The fill is the bottom phase, descent included, plus that minimum gas. Deco bottle fill and reserve. CNS. The deco bottle is walked level by level from the schedule that was actually solved — every stop, every travel leg and the slow last six metres. And it says which of the three ends the dive — your back gas, your deco bottle or your CNS clock — and at which minute. THE DIVE, MINUTE BY MINUTE Every leg carries the runtime it starts at and the runtime it ends at, so you can see where each line begins and ends without doing arithmetic. One tap lays the whole plan out as a wetnote page — schedule, gas checkpoints and on-the-fly adjustments — sized to copy by hand. DIVES BEFORE THIS ONE Keep a plan under a name, then say that up to three of them came before the one you are planning, each with the surface interval before it. Nitrogen and helium both cross the interval, and CNS decays at a 90-minute half-time. No published table covers repetitive decompression dives; this runs your own previous profiles through the same model. ON-THE-FLY ADJUSTMENTS Five minutes more or less on the bottom, or three metres deeper or shallower — each one re-solved through the same model, not scaled by a rule of thumb, with the change in deco minutes and what it costs in each cylinder. If a change goes past a limit, it says so. PRAGMATIC DECOMPRESSION Off by default. Switched on, it linearises the stops between 21 m and 9 m into one flat time per rung, and the 6 m stop is the longer of those stops added together and what the model needs there — a simpler profile to run in the water, not a more conservative one. The unadjusted profile is what the app computes otherwise. WHAT IT DOES NOT PLAN Closed-circuit rebreathers. Cave or wreck penetration. Hypoxic mixes and travel gas. More than one decompression gas. Altitude — sea level only. It does not compute OTU. One decompression gas per dive is a stated limit of this release, not an oversight. If your plan calls for two bottles, this is not your planner yet. INSIDE ITS ENVELOPE, IT REFUSES RATHER THAN WARNS A gas past its oxygen limit, an exposure past the maximum, cylinders that will not cover the plan, a surface interval under an hour — all produce no numbers at all, rather than a number with a caution attached. YOUR DIVE COMPUTER OWNS THE DIVE This is pre-dive arithmetic. It never pronounces a dive safe, and it is not a substitute for training, for your computer, or for your own judgement in the water. Offline. No ads, no analytics, no tracking. Nothing leaves your phone. iPhone, iOS 17 and later. Questions and bug reports: timetosurface@ismailov.net

Screenshots

Halcyon Dive Systems4 screens
Time to Surface4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Time to Surface at every 2 days against Halcyon Dive Systems's every 2 weeks. Time to Surface also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Halcyon Dive Systems's advantage is ratings volume (8 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 Halcyon Dive Systems against 5.0 for Time to Surface. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Halcyon Dive Systems has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Halcyon Dive Systems ships an update every 2 weeks, Time to Surface every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Halcyon Dive Systems versus Time to Surface: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHalcyon Dive SystemsTime to Surface
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size159 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHalcyon Dive SystemsRUSTAM ISMAILOV

Customer experience

Halcyon Dive Systems

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Time to Surface

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

In-app purchases

None

Halcyon Dive Systems

No in-app purchases

None

Time to Surface

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Halcyon Dive Systems free?
Halcyon Dive Systems is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Time to Surface free?
Time to Surface is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Halcyon Dive Systems or Time to Surface?
Halcyon Dive Systems and Time to Surface are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Halcyon Dive Systems or Time to Surface have ads?
Neither Halcyon Dive Systems nor Time to Surface shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Halcyon Dive Systems or Time to Surface?
Halcyon Dive Systems ships an update every 2 weeks, and Time to Surface every 2 days. Most recently, Halcyon Dive Systems was updated on October 4, 2026 and Time to Surface on October 7, 2026.

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