Comparison

Add Astra vs Blackout Camera

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

Head to head
About

Add Astra

Overlay accurate star positions onto your photos using image metadata and machine learning. The app intelligently identifies the sky to ensure stars are placed realistically, avoiding unwanted artifacts.

Highlights
  • Accurate star positioning
  • Uses Yale Bright Star Catalog
  • Extracts image metadata
  • Machine learning sky detection
  • Realistic star overlays
Features
Read full description

Add Astra was our first app. It uses the Yale Bright Star Catalog with extracted image metadata (date, time, location, orientation, and direction) to find star positions accurate to your uploaded image. Add Astra also uses the DETRResnet50SemanticSegmentationF16 Machine Learning Model to find the sky in your image, and only overlay the stars there, so you don’t have weird white dots all over your picture!

About

Blackout Camera

Features
Read full description

Screen off. Still recording. Record at night without screen glare. Blackout Camera gives iPhone and iPad a dim red interface and, with Blackout Pro, manual controls and a black recording screen, so your eyes stay adjusted and your surroundings stay dark. Take photos and record video up to 1080p at 30 fps for free, with advertising. Capturing with the screen off and the advanced tools described above require Blackout Pro, subject to existing Basic access below. • Mark frames: save the moments that matter as full-resolution stills or one labelled contact sheet (Pro). • Blackout Glance: while recording with the screen off, a tap shows the take's time, storage left and battery in dim red. • Faster photos: take the next shot while the last is still processing. Every photo gets full-quality processing. • Smoother camera, lens and Photo/Video switching. A CAMERA WORKFLOW FOR DARK SHOOTS Keep attention on the scene with a dim red interface. After initial setup and permissions, use the Home Screen widget or supported system controls to open the app and start recording with your chosen setup. Press and hold anywhere for about a second to wake the black screen. Apple's camera and microphone indicators remain visible. Keep the app open: locking the phone or leaving the app can interrupt capture. SHAPE YOUR LOOK WITH BLACKOUT PRO Adjust ISO, shutter, focus and white balance. Check exposure and focus with monitoring tools. Natural grade gives Rec.709 video restrained color, a softer tone curve and a touch of warmth, with the graded image in the preview and saved recording. Pro also includes Astro frame stacking, time-lapse and advanced camera formats. 4K, higher frame rates, ProRes, HDR, Apple Log, ProRAW and high-resolution photos depend on your device, lens and settings. FRAME IT. KEEP IT. See the whole photo composition that will be saved. Choose the full image or 4:3, 1:1 and 16:9 crops at the original image resolution, without upscaling. ProRAW keeps the full sensor image. Open a video from the in-app Library or Files, select a moment and export a full-resolution SDR PNG to Files. The still uses the video's frame resolution; HDR video is tone-mapped to SDR. Photo framing and single-frame export are free; marking frames and contact sheets are part of Pro. Save to Apple Photos, the in-app Library, the Pro Private Folder, or a combination. The Private Folder uses device biometrics or a passcode; existing files remain accessible when your subscription ends. No app account is required. Media is processed on your device; you control export and sharing. Apple Photos and device backups follow your Apple settings. Existing Basic subscribers keep black-screen capture and an ad-free experience. A device passcode is required to protect the Private Folder. SUBSCRIPTIONS Pro offers optional monthly or yearly auto-renewable subscriptions. Your localized price, billing period and any eligible introductory offer are shown before purchase. Apple charges your account at confirmation or after an applicable free trial. The subscription renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Restore Purchases is available in the app. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://mwsupplylimited.github.io/blackoutcamera/privacy.html APPLE WATCH CAMERA CONTROL — PRO Frame photos and supported SDR video. Take photos, start/stop video, switch camera, zoom and toggle the blackscreen. See time, actual resolution/quality and Auto Black Screen status. Requires Blackout Pro and a compatible Watch paired with iPhone (not iPad). Enable Watch control on iPhone; keep the app on screen and iPhone unlocked. Live connection needed; no offline capture queue. Preview may be unavailable during recording, depending on format, settings and camera feed. No preview for HDR/Apple Log or Monitor LUT. Recording controls remain available without preview.

Screenshots

Add Astra2 screens
Blackout Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Add Astra at none against Blackout Camera's shown. Add Astra also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). Blackout Camera's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, in-app purchases 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. Add Astra sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per month and Blackout Camera sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Add Astra against 5.0 for Blackout Camera. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Add Astra ships an update every 2 days, Blackout Camera every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Add Astra versus Blackout Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAdd AstraBlackout Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAPParent LLCMatthew Wong

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Add Astra

Subscriptions1
  • 100 Credits a Month + No Ads$10.991 Month
One-time4
  • One Credit$0.29
  • Five Credits$0.99
  • Ten Credits$1.99
Show 1 more
  • 50 Credits$7.49
2 purchases

Blackout Camera

Subscriptions2
  • Blackout Pro$5.991 Month
  • Blackout Pro3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Add Astra free?
Add Astra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blackout Camera free?
Blackout Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Add Astra or Blackout Camera?
Add Astra and Blackout Camera are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Add Astra or Blackout Camera have ads?
Blackout Camera shows ads; Add Astra does not.
Which is updated more often, Add Astra or Blackout Camera?
Add Astra ships an update every 2 days, and Blackout Camera every 5 days. Most recently, Add Astra was updated on November 5, 2026 and Blackout Camera on November 10, 2026.

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