Comparison

Solar System Scope vs Armillary Sphere

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

Head to head
About

Solar System Scope

Explore and discover the solar system and outer space with realistic 3D visualizations and detailed celestial simulations. This app offers an educational and engaging experience for all ages, featuring a comprehensive encyclopedia and a night sky observatory.

Highlights
  • 3D Encyclopedia of celestial bodies
  • Realistic 3D visualizations
  • Night sky observatory with time simulation
  • Accurate orbital parameter calculations
  • High-quality planetary and moon maps
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

Solar System Scope is a fun way of Exploring, Discovering and Playing with the Solar System and Outer Space. Solar System Scope (or just Solar) contains many views and celestial simulations, but most of all - it brings you closer to the furthest reaches of our world and lets you experience lots of fantastic space sceneries. It aspires to be the most illustrative, easy to understand and simple to use space model. - 3D Encyclopedia In Solar’s unique encyclopedia you will find the most interesting facts about every planet, dwarf planet, every major moon and more – and everything is accompanied by realistic 3D visualizations. Solar’s encyclopedia is available in 10 languages: English, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Korean and Slovak. More languages are coming soon! - Nightsky Observatory Enjoy Stars and constellation of the night sky as viewed from any given location on Earth. You can point your device at the sky to see all objects in their proper place, but you can also simulate Night sky in the past or in the future. Now with advanced options that let you simulate ecliptic, equatorial and azimuthal line, or grid (among other things). - Scientific Instrument Solar System Scope calculations are based on up-to-date orbital parameters published by NASA and let you simulate celestial positions at any given time. - For Everyone Solar System Scope is well suited for all audiences and ages: It is enjoyed by space enthusiasts, teachers, scientists, but Solar is successfully used even by children of 4+ years of age! - Unique Maps We are proud to present a very unique set of planetary and moon maps, that let you experience a true-color space as never before. These accurate maps are based on NASA elevation and imagery data. Colors and shades of the textures are tuned according to true-color photos made by Messenger, Viking, Cassini and New Horizon spacecrafts, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Basic resolution of these maps is for free – but if you would like the best experience, you can check out the highest quality, which is available with In-App purchase. - Join our vision Our vision is to build the ultimate space model and bring you the deepest space experience. And you can help - try Solar System Scope and if you like it, spread the word! And don’t forget to join the community and vote for new features on our homepage.

About

Armillary Sphere

Explore the cosmos with this 3D astronomical tool. Measure and record the positions and movements of celestial bodies, and determine sunrise/sunset times and day length. Reconstructs an ancient scientific instrument using modern technology.

Highlights
  • 3D astronomical model
  • Measure celestial positions
  • Record Sun and star movements
  • Determine sunrise/sunset times
  • Calculate day length
  • Adjustable Meridian, Equator, Horizon, Ecliptic, Altitude
Features
Read full description

Armillary is a handy astronomical application for measurement and recording specific times, locations and movement of the Sun and the stars, based on a Ptolemaic model. With this app, we can easily determine the time and position of sunrise and sunset, the length of a day, the altitude of the sun at different times of the year and the position of celestial objects. This 3-dimensional Armillary app reconstructs the ancient armillary sphere with the help of modern technology. The ancient device, believed to be first invented around 200 B.C., had been in use for over 2,000 years in history. FEATURES • This modern-day counterpart can be displayed in any scale and rotated by any angle. • You can make desired measurements by making relevant adjustment of the “Meridian”, “Equator”, “Horizon”, “Ecliptic” and “Altitude” on the app. USER CONTROLS • Touch-screen rotation – Gently swipe or slide fingers for desired rotation of armillary sphere rings • Swipe-touch panel – Swipe fingers on the display panel for desired movement of armillary sphere rings • Pinch-to-zoom – Use index finger and the thumb in a pinch motion to enlarge or shrink the screen as desired.

Screenshots

Solar System Scope4 screens
Armillary Sphere2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Armillary Sphere at none against Solar System Scope's 1. Armillary Sphere also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 76%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). Solar System Scope's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (882 vs 6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. Solar System Scope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Armillary Sphere asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solar System Scope holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solar System Scope has 882 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Solar System Scope's written reviews are positive against 86% of Armillary Sphere's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, Armillary Sphere every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Solar System Scope versus Armillary Sphere: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolar System ScopeArmillary Sphere
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (882 ratings) — better4.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings882 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB275 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperINOVE, s.r.o.HKU TELI

Customer experience

Solar System Scope

All ratings882 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews238 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative17.2%

Armillary Sphere

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Solar System Scope

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when dragging Jupiter
  • Upside-down orientation on tablets
  • Unable to restore purchases
  • Freezes and crashes on launch

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more celestial bodies (Messier objects, Planet 9/10, black holes, etc.)
  • Enable exploration of other galaxies and deep space objects
  • Improve telescope/zoom functionality
  • Add more moons and irregular satellites
  • Implement continental drift and solar system evolution

Armillary Sphere

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Solar System Scope

One-time1
  • HQ Textures / No Ads$5.99
None

Armillary Sphere

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solar System Scope free?
Solar System Scope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Armillary Sphere free?
Armillary Sphere is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solar System Scope or Armillary Sphere?
Solar System Scope is rated higher. Solar System Scope averages 4.4 out of 5 from 882 ratings, while Armillary Sphere averages 4.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Solar System Scope or Armillary Sphere have ads?
Neither Solar System Scope nor Armillary Sphere shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solar System Scope or Armillary Sphere?
Solar System Scope ships an update every 4 months, and Armillary Sphere every 5 months. Most recently, Solar System Scope was updated on September 28, 2026 and Armillary Sphere on September 18, 2026.

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