xSky vs Starry Map
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
xSky
Explore the cosmos with a virtual telescope. Point your device at the sky to identify celestial bodies. Zoom in for detailed views and use a search function to locate specific objects.
- Virtual telescope functionality
- Identify Sun, Moon, Planets, Stars, Galaxies
- Zoom up to a million times
- Screen lock to stop motion
- Object search arrow
- Soft music and sound effects
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xSky is a simple to use virtual telescope app. Just look at the sky through your device. Lock the screen and zoom in to explore in more detail. Features: • Sun, Moon, Planets, Galilean Moons, Stars, Constellations and Galaxies. • Pinch the screen to zoom up to a million times. • Use lock button to stop motions. • Search arrow will help to locate any object in the sky. • Soft music and sound effects.
Starry Map
Identify stars, constellations, and satellites by pointing your phone at the night sky. Augmented reality overlays display celestial names in real-time. Receive notifications for upcoming satellite passes and meteor showers.
- AR celestial identification
- Constellation and star catalog
- Satellite tracking and alerts
- Meteor shower notifications
- Offline functionality
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Point your smartphone at the night sky to instantly identify constellations, stars, and satellites. AR overlays show celestial names on the live camera view, and you can swipe to explore any direction. Get alerts for visible ISS passes and meteor showers. Includes: ・88 constellations (with Hevelius illustrations) ・Solar system planets, dwarf planets, asteroids ・Stars up to magnitude 12 ・About 100 Messier objects (nebulae and clusters) ・Over 10,000 satellites ・More than 300 comets ・Meteor showers and asterisms (Summer/Winter Triangle, Big Dipper, etc.) ・Satellite pass alerts (ISS, Hubble) ・Meteor shower peak notifications Works offline (satellite data won't update). Terms of Service https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: xSky at none against Starry Map's 7. xSky also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (80% vs 62%). Starry Map's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Starry Map sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. xSky asks for nothing beyond the download.
Starry Map holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 75 and 246 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of xSky's written reviews are positive against 62% of Starry Map's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
xSky ships an update every 3 months, Starry Map every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | xSky | Starry Map |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (75 ratings) | 4.5 (246 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.7% of reviews — better | 62.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 75 | 246 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oleg Sur | にゃんこソフトウェア |
Customer experience
xSky
Starry Map
User reviews
xSky
From 75 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🔭 Realistic space simulation
- ✨ Beautiful visuals and music
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 💡 Great for learning astronomy
- 💯 Highly accurate object identification
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashing issues
- 🧭 Location services not working
- 🔄 Inconsistent with reality (out of sync)
- 📱 Not optimized for all devices (e.g., iPhone 12)
- 🎛️ Hard to control
Starry Map
From 246 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use and understand
- ✨ Beautiful and visually appealing interface
- 🔭 AR feature for real-time sky viewing
- 🛰️ Useful for tracking satellites (ISS, Starlink)
- 💡 Informative with links to Wikipedia
Room to improve
- 💰 Many features are paid/locked
- 💸 Increased monetization and paid features
- 📉 Some users feel it was better before monetization
- 🤔 Unclear how to use certain features
- 📱 Inconsistent performance across devices/OS versions
Bugs and requests
xSky
Reported bugs
9 issues- App keeps crashing
- Location services not working/picking a country
- App closes immediately upon opening
- App is glitchy and moves by itself
- Search button not working in horizontal position
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- App not working on iPhone 12
- App out of sync with reality
- Sun located incorrectly at noon
- Mercury in retrograde causing app to not open
Requested features
9 requests- Camera feature for high-quality photos
- Ability to turn down exposure for photos
- Facts read aloud about celestial objects
- Traditional constellation names (e.g., Virgo, Taurus)
- Show International Space Station or other satellites
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- Option to turn off constellation lines
- Improve search button size and usability
- Fix search button in horizontal mode
- More mythological graphics and information about stars
Starry Map
Reported bugs
13 issues- App crashes on launch after updates
- Date/time setting resets to 1970
- Black screen upon opening the app
- Ads not disappearing even after purchase
- App closes when selecting specific objects (e.g., Comet Neowise)
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- Location accuracy issues
- App closes after update
- App not working on older iOS versions
- Data connection not allowed error
- AR view constantly spinning
- ISS and Starlink not displaying after update
- App crashes when switching night mode
- App crashes when selecting NEOWISE comet
Requested features
8 requests- Reflect weather and light pollution in star visibility
- Include stories/episodes related to constellations
- Separate 1st to 3rd magnitude stars in display options
- Simplify solar system display for beginners
- Option to hide background stars or make them less prominent
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- Add comet Atlas to the catalog
- More user-friendly tutorials on usage
- Search functionality for star names
In-app purchases
xSky
No in-app purchases
Starry Map
- Unlock Features2 variants$0.991 Month
- Unlock Features7 Days trial2 variants$0.991 Month
- Unlock Features$3.991 Year
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- Unlock Features7 Days trial$3.991 Year
- Unlock Features (Lifetime)$9.99
