Heliochron vs ScanMe

Follow the sun. Look at a familiar place differently. Heliochron is a pocket instrument for light, time, and place. Use the AR view to see the calculated sun path over your surroundings, then explore the day and year with two slim, tactile thumbwheels. Notice a courtyard on an architectural walk. Explore a roofline in another season. Look from a possible planter position, or find a reason to return to a favorite view. THE PLACE COMES FIRST On first launch, a short explanation shows why location and camera access are useful. Sun calculations happen on your iPhone, without uploading your location. Allow access to start exploring, or enter coordinates manually in Settings. Narrow azimuth and elevation rulers leave room for the world outside. TIME AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Use Sun to change the time of day and date with separate black-metal wheels. Compare seasonal paths or return to Now with a tap. With obstacle editing off, drag the sun or its path to explore another time; the wheels follow your movement. COMPARE THE YEAR Turn on Year paths in Sun to compare seven representative trajectories, pairing months with similar sun paths. Month labels start in a column on the right and can be dragged along their paths. The overlay starts off and remembers your choice. The paths approximate the 21st of the first named month. MARK WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY Optionally paint trees, buildings, or hills with your finger. Fine diagonal hatching shows your marks, and the sun path dims behind them. Open Obstacles to paint, erase, undo, adjust the brush, or save and restore a named place. KEEP THE VIEW Tap the camera button to save the current sun view, including the camera scene, path, and obstacle marks, to Photos. Photos access is requested only when saving. Saved places and drawings stay locally on your iPhone. No account is required. STAY CURIOUS. KNOW THE LIMITS. Heliochron shows calculated sun positions, not weather or shadows moving across buildings. Obstacle painting is manual, not automatic detection. Marks describe one viewpoint and need checking when you move or return. Alignment depends on location, compass heading, camera tracking, and conditions. Settings includes compass correction and tracking recovery. Avoid pointing the camera directly at the sun for prolonged periods: this may damage the camera. The in-app warning and camera pause are reminders, not physical protection. Pausing capture cannot block sunlight; turn the lens away. For architects and urban planners exploring off duty, garden and balcony growers, and anyone who enjoys looking closer. Not a certified survey, building-compliance, PV-design, or professional solar-assessment tool.

ScanMe reads every common QR code and barcode, turns paper into PDFs, and creates codes of your own — without an account. The free version shows an occasional ad and keeps up to 30 scans and 15 created codes in History; a one-time ScanMe Premium purchase removes both limits for good. SCAN ANYTHING • QR codes and 12 more barcode symbologies, including EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 39, Code 93, Code 128, ITF, Codabar, PDF417, Aztec and Data Matrix • Results are understood, not just decoded: links, Wi-Fi networks, contacts, e-mails, phone numbers, SMS, calendar events, locations, products and ISBNs are recognised and shown in a readable form • The app opens straight into the camera; what a code holds appears right on the camera with its main action — open the link, join the Wi-Fi network, call, save the contact • Batch scanning keeps the camera running and saves every new code in a row • Open links in Safari, call a number, save a contact, write an e-mail or SMS, or copy and share any result • Scan straight from the camera or pick an image from your photo library • Text recognition turns printed text into something you can copy and share DOCUMENT SCANNER • Capture multi-page documents with edge detection and save them as a PDF • Open your scans in the app, or share them and save them to Files CREATE YOUR OWN CODES • Generate QR codes for a URL, plain text, Wi-Fi credentials, a contact card, an e-mail, an SMS, a phone number or a location • The code updates as you type; paste a copied link in one tap • Keep the result in your history, or share it anywhere — including Photos and Files HISTORY • Scans, created codes and documents are kept on your device, grouped by day (the free version keeps up to 30 scans and 15 created codes; documents are unlimited) • Search everything, pin the codes you use most, and delete with a swipe — with Undo • Reopen or share any entry, or select several to delete at once SCANME PREMIUM • A one-time purchase, no subscription • No ads • Unlimited scans and created codes in History • Restore it on your other devices from Settings MADE THE WAY YOU LIKE IT • Front or back camera, flashlight, 1×, 2× and 4× zoom, and a frame colour you choose • Vibration and beep feedback you can switch off • Light, dark or system appearance • 18 languages PRIVACY ScanMe works offline. Nothing you scan, create or save is uploaded anywhere. The occasional ad is served by Google AdMob, which uses your device's advertising identifier only if you allow tracking. Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics collect anonymous usage statistics and crash reports.