Comparison

Arc Timeline 4 vs Steps Map

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

Head to head
About

Arc Timeline 4

This app automatically tracks your location history, including how you travel and how long you stay at places. It learns your habits to provide a detailed, searchable timeline of your daily life, offering insights into your activity and health metrics.

Highlights
  • Automatic background location recording
  • Smart learning engine for place recognition
  • Detects over 20 activity types
  • Searchable trip and place history
  • Health and activity insights (heart rate, calories)
  • Data stored on device with optional iCloud backup
Features
Read full description

Arc Timeline automatically records where you go, how you get there, and how long you stay - all in the background, with no buttons to press. A smart learning engine gets more accurate the more you use it, building a detailed, searchable timeline of your daily life. Your trips, your places, your history - recorded effortlessly. WHAT ARC TIMELINE DOES ▸ Automatically detects and records your visits and trips ▸ Learns your places and recognises them by name ▸ Detects walking, running, cycling, driving, train, bus, airplane, and 20+ more activity types ▸ A learning engine that improves over time, personalised to you ▸ Search your entire history - find any place, any trip, any day BUILT FOR QUALITY ▸ High quality GPS data with advanced Kalman filtering ▸ Reliable background recording with intelligent sleep mode ▸ Built for iOS 26 with Liquid Glass design ▸ Full dark mode support YOUR DATA, YOUR DEVICE ▸ All data stored on your device ▸ Optional iCloud backup to your private iCloud account ▸ No accounts, no sign-ups, no data shared with third parties ▸ Export your data anytime in standard JSON format HEALTH & ACTIVITY INSIGHTS ▸ Heart rate, calories burned, steps, and altitude for every trip and visit ▸ Import workouts from Apple Health ▸ Sync visits to your calendar ▸ Places tab with visit history, occupancy charts, and geographic reports A free trial is included. An active subscription or lifetime purchase is required after the trial period. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.bigpaua.com/arcapp/terms

About

Steps Map

Read full description

Steps Map automatically tracks your steps with rich map views, historical data, while prioritising privacy by keeping all your data on device. Steps Map has been designed and built for iOS 26, with stunning Liquid Glass components and smooth UI interactions. Maps View View your walking and running routes in real time in rich, dynamic Apple Maps views. Zoom view displays your routes throughout the day. Routes are automatically stored by day, so that you can see where you’ve walked on past dates. Apple Health Steps Map syncs data with Apple Health, pulling additional data like calories burned from your iPhone’s HealthKit. Steps Targets Set a daily steps target and view progress throughout the day. View historical target progress in Calendar View. Optimised for Low Power Use GPS data, which powers Maps View, is recorded intermittently, and only when in motion.
All recorded data is immediately compressed to optimise power and storage use. Privacy Steps Map is privacy-first. All your steps data is processed and stored solely on your iPhone device. No internet or cloud services utilised.
No account, or sign-up required. No notifications. Preferences Choose between imperial and metric measurements (Mi/Km). Permissions Requires location permissions always on Requires read access to Apple Health Requires read access to motion data

Screenshots

Arc Timeline 44 screens
Steps Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Steps Map at none against Arc Timeline 4's 3. Arc Timeline 4's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Arc Timeline 4 sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Steps Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Arc Timeline 4 ships an update weekly, Steps Map every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Arc Timeline 4 versus Steps Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArc Timeline 4Steps Map
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (24 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings24 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew Bruce GreenfieldNomad Apps Ltd

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Arc Timeline 4

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Purchase$219.99
None

Steps Map

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arc Timeline 4 free?
Arc Timeline 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Steps Map free?
Steps Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Arc Timeline 4 or Steps Map have ads?
Neither Arc Timeline 4 nor Steps Map shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Arc Timeline 4 or Steps Map?
Arc Timeline 4 ships an update weekly, and Steps Map every 2 months. Most recently, Arc Timeline 4 was updated on October 14, 2026 and Steps Map on September 27, 2026.

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