Comparison

Heliochron vs Extra Actions

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

Head to head
About

Heliochron

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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.

About

Extra Actions

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Extra Actions adds 10 useful actions to the Shortcuts app. Build your workflow in Shortcuts, then add the tools you need for variables, media, and downloads. VARIABLES • Set, get, and delete global text variables that your shortcuts can share. • Set, get, and delete local text variables using a shortcut key to keep values separate. MEDIA • Check whether your device supports specific codec. • Re-encode video to H.264. • Combine video and audio into one movie with Remux. DOWNLOADS • Download a file from a direct URL and pass it to the next action in your shortcut. To get started, open Extra Actions to browse what’s included. Then open the Shortcuts app, create or edit a shortcut, and search for “Extra Actions” in the action picker. Requires iOS 16.4 or later. Media processing depends on your device and input files. Extra Actions does not collect user data. Text saved through its variable actions is stored locally on your device, and media files are processed on your device. Privacy Policy: https://1mrnewton.github.io/extra-actions-privacy/

Screenshots

Heliochron4 screens
Extra Actions3 screens

Verdict

The call

Heliochron and Extra Actions are too close to call on the numbers: across 3 compared parameters — price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Heliochron versus Extra Actions: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeliochronExtra Actions
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNo—
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone — better—
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperViSSee AGEmmanuel Aidoo

In-app purchases

None

Heliochron

No in-app purchases

None

Extra Actions

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Heliochron free?
Heliochron is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Extra Actions free?
Extra Actions is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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