Annoying as ever
2
By indicatorvindicator
I don't remember when I first found out about this app; I've been using it in some way for upwards of ten years. Night Sky has changed a lot— it's moved from hip thing to hip thing, from AR to AI. Still, though, it has all of the same old problems it had years ago, with some new ones.
What do I mean? Some of the controls are still oversensitive: tap the screen too quickly or too many times in succession, and you'll invariably zoom way, way in. On the other hand, the others are not sensitive enough: try tapping on the planet you want, and you'll probably end up just zooming in again or clicking something else on accident several times before you reach Jupiter, sometimes even when you're zoomed close to it. Those problems have always plagued this app, and they apparently always will.
(There's another one that's less of a performance issue, but I will mention it anyway. The information for every planet, star, and deep sky object is taken directly from Wikipedia pages. That can be iffy in itself. However, many stars and objects will pull up a generalized page based on where they are often catalogued. For example, even some relatively well-known New General Catalogue galaxy may pull up the Wiki page for the NGC instead of a page for the object itself. This is frustrating if learning is your goal, not just finding.)
New additions to the app have brought new problems. I remember when Night Sky Plus came around (it's older than some reviews may suggest) and began throwing up a "SUBSCRIBE NOW" screen upon opening the app. As if this wasn't annoying enough, it also throws up the same screen should you zoom in too much (an accident that will almost certainly happen to you). I understand that zooming in further is a premium feature, but—just asking—was the pop-up thing really necessary? It's petty, sure, but do not put pop-ups like this in an app that focuses on learning and relaxation.
I apologize for writing an entire essay, but I hope I've got my point across.
