Comparison

SOLAR vs Date & Time

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

Head to head
About

SOLAR

Features
Read full description

Know how much daylight is left. Find golden hour. See where the Sun and Moon will be. SOLAR brings the changing sky to your iPhone. Check the light before a walk, choose a moment for a photo, or slide through the day and watch morning become night. MAKE THE MOST OF DAYLIGHT See sunrise, solar noon and sunset for your chosen place, with a countdown to the next sunrise or sunset. Explore golden hour, blue hour and the stages of twilight. EXPLORE A DAY. OR A SEASON. Move through the hours to follow the Sun and Moon. Check the Moon’s phase, reveal their paths, and explore how the Sun’s position changes through the year. A changing sky, drifting clouds and an animated sea bring the view to life. Choose which visual layers to show. FOUR WAYS TO READ TIME Read familiar Local Time or switch to Solar Time, where 12:00 is local solar noon. Try Seasonal Hours, which divide daylight and night into twelve parts each, with hour lengths that change through the year. Or discover Byzantine Time, with equal-length hours counted from sunset. A REMINDER TO LOOK UP Set reminders for sunrise, sunset, golden hour and other solar events. Choose when to be notified and which days to include. FIND THE SUN AND MOON On supported iPhones, use augmented reality to see the calculated positions of the Sun and Moon over your camera view. In AR, Sky shows the whole sky around you with a light score: the share of the year’s direct sun that reaches your spot, under a clear sky. The shadow tool shows where an object’s shadow falls. With Aim, point at a landmark and tap to find when the Sun or Moon lines up with it. THE DAY, AT A GLANCE Add widgets for solar time, daylight and the Moon to your Home Screen or Lock Screen. On Apple Watch, check today’s solar events and add the next sunrise or sunset to your watch face. SHARE THE LIGHT Share a sky image from the moment you’re exploring. No account. No ads. Core solar calculations run on your device. The illustrated sky, clouds and sea are visualizations, not a live view of your surroundings. AR requires a compatible iPhone, camera access and location permission.

About

Date & Time

Read full description

Check the current time, date, and day of the week right on your home screen with this clock widget app. CHOOSE DIGITAL OR ANALOG Choose an easy-to-read digital clock or an analog clock with hands. CHOOSE YOUR COLORS Pick from White, Ivory, Beige, Teal, Navy, Black, and more. CUSTOMIZE THE ANALOG CLOCK FACE Choose from three styles: all 12 numbers, just 12, 3, 6, and 9, or no numbers. Find the look that suits your home screen and personal style. FOLLOWS YOUR DEVICE SETTINGS The time, time zone, and 12- or 24-hour format follow your device settings. SIMPLE TO USE No account required, no ads, and no in-app purchases.

Screenshots

SOLAR4 screens
Date & Time1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Date & Time at Free against SOLAR's $2.99. Date & Time also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

Date & Time is free to download; SOLAR costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SOLAR ships an update fortnightly, Date & Time every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
SOLAR versus Date & Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSOLARDate & Time
Price$2.99Free — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developertimothe marcellinSKIZ LLC

In-app purchases

None

SOLAR

No in-app purchases

None

Date & Time

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SOLAR free?
SOLAR costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Date & Time free?
Date & Time is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SOLAR or Date & Time have ads?
Neither SOLAR nor Date & Time shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SOLAR or Date & Time?
SOLAR ships an update fortnightly, and Date & Time every 3 days. Most recently, SOLAR was updated on November 10, 2026 and Date & Time on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons