Comparison

PlanetLoopTimer vs StarTrace

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

Head to head
About

PlanetLoopTimer

Features
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■ "Break, break, always break." gets things moving "Just a quick break"—and 30 minutes are gone. Open a comic, and the rest of the day is over. The harder you say "do it," the more they freeze. PlanetLoopTimer is a visual timer that turns the break itself into your child's "next motivation switch." Launch a planet, orbit the sun—the orbit is the break time. Pulled into the sun, it ends. "I want another shot, and a better one"—that feeling pulls the next small step out of them. ■ Not "5 minutes ticking by," but "you launch your own break" A normal timer starts counting down the second you press the button. For a kid, time is leaving without their say—it just feels unfair. That's why "just a little more!" never stops. In PlanetLoopTimer, the break length is decided by your launch. Eye the angle and power on the guide line, then release at the right moment. Launch well: longer orbit. Miss: much shorter. Because they made the time themselves, the end feels easier to accept too. ■ Planets, around the sun, round and round Each planet has a different break length. The farther from the sun, the longer it orbits. "It's far, so it goes longer"—that's intuitive for kids. As the target time gets closer, the sun's gravity slowly grows, and the planet spirals in. Watching a planet stay in orbit feels nothing like a forced 5-minute countdown. It's a timer, but it plays a bit like a game. That's how "fun breaks" are born. ■ Three easy steps ① Pick a planet The number on each planet on the start screen is the break time guide. ② Look at the guide line, and launch Picture the angle and power, then fire. A clean launch orbits long, a miss falls short— it's a timer, but you'll find yourself wanting to get better. ③ When it's pulled into the sun, the break ends The moment it's swallowed up, "what's next?" rises naturally. ■ Pluto only: ∞ Challenge mode Pluto has no rising-gravity setup. With a clean enough launch, it just keeps orbiting. Use it as a "personal record" treat for your kid. ■ A great fit for these kids and families [For kids who…] · "5 more minutes" stretches on forever · Open a comic or a game and can't put it down · Have a strong sense of their own pace · Move on "I want to try" more than on reasons · Love breaks, but can't quite catch the cue to end one · Have ADHD, ASD, or time blindness traits [For families where…] · "Do it!" has become a daily refrain · You want kids to move because they're convinced, not because they're told · Timers tend to turn into arguments · You'd like a fun mechanism for daily routines "Launch" instead of "scold." Change the word that moves them, and the day gets a little lighter. ■ About ads To avoid disturbing the timer, the main planet modes (Mercury through Neptune) show no ads at all. Ads appear only once, at the end of the Pluto (∞ Challenge) bonus mode. · Regular planet modes are fully ad-free — during and after the timer · One ad only at the end of Pluto ∞ mode · No ads during the timer or while you're operating the screen · We configure AdMob not to receive the advertising identifier (IDFA) · Data stays on your device, never sent externally May your daily breaks become a little space adventure. ■ Sister apps "LastDays" — counts down the time left with your kid, in "how many more times." "TodoGatya" — for slow mornings — kids draw the next task from a gacha and start with a surprise.

About

StarTrace

Features
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星迹 — 一款让星空触手可及的 AR 天文科普应用。 举起手机,对准夜空,星迹便会通过增强现实技术,把真实天空与星图叠加在一起,实时为你标注头顶的恒星、行星、星座与月亮。无需任何天文基础,也无需望远镜,你就能读懂头顶的这片宇宙。 【核心功能】 · AR 实景观星 打开相机取景,星迹将结合你的地理位置、手机朝向与当前时间,把可见的恒星、行星与星座精准叠加在真实天空画面上。随着你转身、抬手、移动手机,星空也随之流转,天体始终固定在它真正所在的方位,让你所见即所得。 · 互动星图 不必走到户外,也能随时浏览全天星空。可自由旋转、缩放视野,切换观测时间与地点,预演不同时刻、不同城市的星空布局。无论白天黑夜、阴晴圆缺,星图永远为你展开。 · 天文百科 内置涵盖恒星、行星、星座、深空天体与中国古代星宿的图鉴式知识库。每颗天体都附有科普资料,从亮度、距离到神话传说,一应俱全,是随身的天文小课堂。 · 中国星宿 除西方 88 星座外,星迹还收录了中国古代三垣二十八宿体系,让你在观星的同时,重拾东方千年星空文化的浪漫。 · 北斗指引 不认识北极星?星迹会用北斗七星为你指明方向,帮你轻松找到夜空中那颗亘古不动的方位标。 · 收藏与探索 遇到心仪的天体,一键加入收藏,随时回顾。配合分类筛选与搜索,海量星表也能快速定位。 【技术亮点】 · 实时传感器融合 融合加速度计、磁力计与陀螺仪数据,精准追踪手机朝向,确保天体标注与真实位置严丝合缝。 · 天文坐标精算 基于赤道坐标系与地平坐标系的实时转换,并完成球面到屏幕的投影,呈现专业级的天体定位精度。 · 本地星图数据库 内置约 300 颗亮星与全天 88 星座数据,无需联网即可运行,既省流量又护隐私。 · 完全离线,隐私优先 所有计算与数据均在本地完成,不收集、不上传任何个人信息,给你一片纯净、安心的星空。 【适用人群】 无论你是久观星空的天文爱好者,还是对头顶星光满怀好奇的初学者;无论你是想带孩子认识北斗的父母,还是希望重温东方星宿文化的传统爱好者——星迹都能成为你口袋里的天文台。 以宇宙为幕,以星辰为引。星迹,陪你点亮每一片夜空。

Screenshots

PlanetLoopTimer3 screens
StarTrace3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: StarTrace at 13.0 against PlanetLoopTimer's 15.1. On price, update cadence, 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PlanetLoopTimer ships an update every 6 weeks, StarTrace every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
PlanetLoopTimer versus StarTrace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlanetLoopTimerStarTrace
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTatsuro Saito明珍 曾

In-app purchases

None

PlanetLoopTimer

No in-app purchases

None

StarTrace

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PlanetLoopTimer free?
PlanetLoopTimer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StarTrace free?
StarTrace is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PlanetLoopTimer or StarTrace have ads?
Neither PlanetLoopTimer nor StarTrace shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PlanetLoopTimer or StarTrace?
PlanetLoopTimer ships an update every 6 weeks, and StarTrace every 4 weeks. Most recently, PlanetLoopTimer was updated on November 5, 2026 and StarTrace on October 29, 2026.

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