Comparison

SolarFocus vs Rostrum

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

Head to head
About

SolarFocus

Features
Read full description

“Through hardships to the stars —— Per aspera ad astra” In an era where attention is constantly fractured by distractions, it is easy to lose our rhythm in anxiety and noise. Yet in the vast expanse of deep space, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars... every celestial body travels faithfully along its predetermined orbit, calm and unhurried. No chaos, no rush — only eternal gravity and disciplined order. SolarFocus transforms each focus session into an interstellar journey across the cosmos. When you tap start, you enter your own planetary orbit — every minute and second of dedicated effort is no longer merely time slipping away, but energy powering your exploration and shimmering cosmic stardust. --- Core Features & Highlights 【The Sun & 8 Planetary Focus Modes】 • The Sun Infinite Count-Up: Unrestricted immersive flow, recording every moment of deep, sustained effort. • 8 Planetary Pomodoro Timers: - Mercury (10 min): Meditation / Quick Mind Clearing - Venus (15 min): Micro-tasks / Utilizing spare time - Earth (25 min): Classic Pomodoro Technique - Mars (30 min): Daily light work & study - Jupiter (40 min): Design concepts / Deep reading - Saturn (50 min): High-efficiency creative flow - Uranus (90 min): Intensive brainstorming - Neptune (120 min): Deep research & specialized mastery 【Authentic Keplerian Orbits & NASA Celestial Sync】 • Built-in high-precision Keplerian planetary orbital algorithm reproducing real celestial physics. • Live celestial data sync to observe current solar system planetary longitudes in real time. • Freely adjust orbital speed from 1x to 1000x, pinch-to-zoom and command your personal celestial chart. 【Cosmic Odyssey Mileage & Stardust Achievements】 • Focus Mileage Visualization: Calculates your distance traveled across the galaxy and orbital angle around the Sun. • Stardust & Progression: Build focus streaks to gather stardust and witness the compound power of discipline. • Interstellar Exploration Badges: Time Apprentice, Interstellar Voyager, Night Guardian, Dawn Watcher, and many more. 【Multi-Dimensional Cosmic Statistics】 • Clear daily focus heatmaps and weekly/monthly/annual productivity trends. • Planetary time distribution pie charts to analyze your energy allocation. 【Dynamic Island & Lock Screen Live Activities】 • Full support for iOS Dynamic Island and Lock Screen Live Activities: glance at your orbit progress without unlocking your phone. 【Elegant & Versatile Home Screen Widgets】 • Multi-sized solar system dashboards, cosmic travel stats, daily inspirational quotes, and quick-control widgets. 【Personal Customization & iCloud Sync】 • Custom Celestial Bodies: Freely configure name, color, size, orbital period, and target focus duration. • Seamless iCloud Multi-Device Sync: Safe local-first storage with automatic cloud backup across all your Apple devices. • Immersive cosmic white noise and refined haptic feedback. --- Ideal For - Deep study sessions, exam preparation, and cramming - Coding, system architecture, writing, and design - Pomodoro-based daily workflow and GTD time management - Mindfulness meditation, morning routines, and reading habits May this tranquil starry sky accompany you through the noise and guide you to your own shining stars. --- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Rostrum

This app provides a silent, visual countdown timer for speakers, with customizable color cues to indicate time remaining. It offers intuitive gesture controls for adjustments and can mirror the display to a larger screen.

Highlights
  • Silent visual countdown
  • Customizable color stages
  • Gesture-based editing
  • External display mirroring
  • Never dims screen
  • Remembers settings
Features
Read full description

Rostrum shows a speaker how much time is left, as a clock large enough to read from the back of the room — or from a phone propped on the podium. The background changes color at times you choose. Green while there's plenty left, amber when it's time to move on, red when it isn't. You decide how many stages there are and exactly when each one starts — most timers give you three fixed colors and no say in the matter. SILENT BY DESIGN No chimes. No alerts. No notifications. Not "sounds turned off by default" — Rostrum contains no code that can make a sound. Your audience never knows the timer is there. THE CLOCK IS THE CONTROL No buttons over your countdown. Tap to start or pause. Pause it and the clock becomes the editor: swipe with one finger to adjust seconds, two fingers for minutes, three for hours. A running clock refuses those swipes on purpose — a hand steadying the phone should not be able to rewrite a talk in progress. Pinch in to leave. A one-time overlay teaches the gestures, and a quiet line along the bottom of the clock keeps the key ones in view whenever the clock is stopped. Mid-talk, nothing but the time. BUILT FOR WHOEVER IS RUNNING THE ROOM Changing a talk length takes one tap. Set your common slot lengths once — 5, 15, 30, 45 minutes, whatever your event uses — and switch between speakers instantly. ON A BIG SCREEN WHEN YOU NEED IT Connect a display with AirPlay or USB-C and the clock fills it while your phone becomes the remote: start, pause, and adjust from your hand while the speaker watches the screen. WHEN TIME RUNS OUT The screen turns red and flashes briefly, then counts upward so a speaker can see exactly how far over they are. Impossible to miss, impossible to mistake for anything else. DETAILS THAT MATTER ON STAGE • The screen never dims while the clock is up • A phone call or a lock screen never stops the countdown — the full time is there when you come back • Digits never jitter or shift as the numbers change • Text color adapts automatically so it stays readable on any background • Remembers your setup between launches Also on the Mac App Store — one free app, both platforms. Free, with no purchases, no accounts, and no data collection of any kind. Rostrum has no network code — there is nowhere for your information to go.

Screenshots

SolarFocus4 screens
Rostrum4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rostrum at none against SolarFocus's 3. Rostrum also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly). SolarFocus's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SolarFocus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Rostrum asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SolarFocus ships an update weekly, Rostrum daily. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SolarFocus versus Rostrum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolarFocusRostrum
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer厚然 曾Scott GREER

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SolarFocus

Subscriptions2
  • 行星专注 Pro - 月度订阅$1.991 Month
  • 专注行星 Pro - 年度订阅$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • SolarFocus Pro - Lifetime$17.99
None

Rostrum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SolarFocus free?
SolarFocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rostrum free?
Rostrum is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SolarFocus or Rostrum have ads?
Neither SolarFocus nor Rostrum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SolarFocus or Rostrum?
SolarFocus ships an update weekly, and Rostrum daily. Most recently, SolarFocus was updated on October 15, 2026 and Rostrum on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons