xSky vs StarBook Wireless
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.
StarBook Wireless
Control your equatorial mount wirelessly from your smartphone. Navigate the stars with automatic GO-TO functionality and intuitive touch controls. Update your device's firmware and adjust screen visibility for nighttime observation.
- Wireless equatorial mount control
- Automatic GO-TO celestial navigation
- Touchscreen telescope movement
- Star chart selection
- Telescope alignment
- Firmware updates
- Nighttime screen visibility
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STAR BOOK Wireless is an app for a smartphone that allows for radio controls of the equatorial mount with a Wireless Unit attached. The wireless LAN connection between the smartphone and the Wireless Unit makes you operate the equatorial mount with no cables and enables you to use celestial navigation functions, including automatic GO-TO navigation. Applicable equatorial mounts:SX2、SXD2、SXD2-PFL、SXP、SXP-PFL、SXP2、AXJ (Encoder cannot be used together)、AXD2、AXD、AP Functions Available with the App Moving the Telescope in X-Y Directions Swiping on the screen of star charts with your fingers will move the telescope in the corresponding direction. Also, fine movements are available by enlarging the screen. Zooming in or out of the screen is ready with the zoom slider. Celestial Navigations You can select celestial objects you desire to see from the lists of different celestial objects (Stars / Planets / Messier objects, NGC objects, IC objects / Comets, and so on) and introduce them into your telescope automatically. (SCOPE MODE) In this mode, swiping motions on the star chart are linked to a movement of the telescope. The telescope can be slewed in any direction freely. (CHART MODE) In this mode, you can select the celestial objects you want to introduce into your telescope from the star charts on the screen. You can choose a named celestial object seen inner the center green circle or bring a field of view of the telescope to the center of the star chart. Alignment* After introducing the target celestial object in the center, you can match the direction of the telescope's field of view to that celestial object by tapping "ALIGN" for alignment. You can view and delete alignment logs by pressing "ALIGN" a little longer. *The alignment is the work of matching the position information from the celestial coordinates stored in the app with the location of stars visible in the sky. Firmware Update You can update the firmware on your Wireless Unit with the application. Nighttime Visibility You can secure the visibility on the screen during nighttime use by changing the screen illumination to red
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: xSky at 79% against StarBook Wireless's 43%. StarBook Wireless's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
xSky ships an update every 3 months, StarBook Wireless every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | xSky | StarBook Wireless |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (80 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 79.4% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 80 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Oleg Sur | Vixen Co.,Ltd. |
Customer experience
xSky
StarBook Wireless
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
StarBook Wireless
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
xSky
No in-app purchases
StarBook Wireless
No in-app purchases









