This update improves the accuracy and consistency of Moon and nighttime planning data. Fixed an issue that could display Moon impact instead of Moon illumination. Corrected cases where Tonight’s Plan could show Moon or lens guidance from the wrong night. Improved forecast caching so saved data always matches the correct date and location. Aligned Moon calculations across forecasts, widgets, and planning tools. Improved astronomical darkness calculations and overall forecast reliability. Additional performance, stability, and accuracy improvements.

Dark Skies 5.0 is here—and your next great night starts now. Discover darker places, explore nearby campgrounds, compare measured light, and find shooting spots worth the drive. Then use the completely redesigned experience to check Tonight, find your Best Nights, plan the shot, and head out with confidence. Find darker skies. Plan smarter. Get the shot.

Best Location is here. Compare your saved locations and quickly see which one offers the best opportunity for astrophotography or night photography tonight. Dark Skies considers the Night Score, usable darkness, weather conditions, moonlight, timing, and distance to help you choose where to shoot. Once you choose a location, Night Plan brings the important details together in one clear view, including: • Your recommended shooting window • Key weather and night-sky conditions • Moon and darkness timing • Exposure starting points • Quick access to Field Mode, Maps, Calendar, and sharing Dark Skies still keeps the decision simple: less time comparing forecast data and more confidence deciding whether tonight is worth shooting. Version 4.10 also includes accessibility improvements, clearer layouts at larger text sizes, and additional reliability refinements across the app.

Dark Skies 4.9.2 improves reliability and polish across location, sky guidance, permissions, and accessibility, with small fixes throughout the app.

Dark Skies 4.9.1 is a focused reliability and polish update. • Field Mode refinements for a smoother night-shooting experience • Your exposure calculator settings now stay saved between sessions • Improved purchase restoration and offline messaging • Small UI, accessibility, and stability improvements across Tonight, Best Nights, and Forecast Thanks for using Dark Skies—and clear skies!

Field Mode is here — a free on-site companion for nights when you’re already out under the sky. Field Mode Open it from Tonight for simple guidance in the field: shoot now, wait for darkness or moonset, or wrap up for the night — with a live countdown to the next moment that matters. Built for night vision A red-on-black field view helps preserve your dark adaptation. The screen stays awake while you shoot, dims gently when idle, and sky and moon timings continue working offline. A glance for your wrist Raise your Apple Watch for the same verdict, countdown, and moon context while you’re out shooting. Meteor Outlook returns to Tonight The Meteor Outlook card is back on the Tonight screen, with active showers, peak timing, and the next notable shower when none is active. Refined throughout Stability and reliability improvements across Tonight, Best Nights, and Forecast keep planning calm and dependable. Thanks for using Dark Skies. Clear skies!

Dark Skies is sharper, faster, and more reliable for planning nights under the stars. This update improves purchase restoration, cleans up Best Nights and widget behavior, strengthens privacy-safe diagnostics, and includes general performance and reliability improvements across the app. No ads. No accounts. Just better nights under the stars. Clear skies.

Clearer forecasts. Cleaner under the hood. This maintenance update tightens the 4.8 experience with clearer forecast wording, cleanup across planning screens, and reliability improvements for Best Nights, widgets, and everyday use. No accounts. No ads. Just better nights under the stars. Clear skies.

Plan the right night. • Best Nights ranks upcoming nights by shooting conditions, helping you pick the clearest, darkest window. Pro extends the view to two full weeks. • Best Night Alerts can quietly remind you before an excellent night — on device, with no accounts or servers. • A calmer Starting Setup guides your first steps. • Widgets now open directly to the right night or view. • Performance and reliability improvements.

This release is all about stability and polish: • Reliability fixes across Tonight, Forecast, and widgets • Faster, quieter refreshes • Smoother widgets and saved-location switching Clear skies!

Dark Skies is now easier to check at a glance. New Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets Meteor Outlook for active showers and peak timing Improved saved-location planning Faster performance and reliability improvements

This update includes bug fixes, performance improvements, and general polish to make Dark Skies faster, smoother, and more reliable.

Save your favorite shooting spots, quickly switch between them, and plan your next night shoot faster. This release also includes Pro support for expanded saved locations, UI polish, performance improvements, and bug fixes.

This update adds a new Rate Dark Skies option in Settings, smoother restore purchase handling, clearer forecast messaging, and small reliability improvements throughout the app.

Bug fixes and enhancements for release

Sharper stars and a faster setup. • Star Sharpness Modes — pick Balanced for the classic 500-rule look or Sharper for the more conservative 300 rule. A quick intro helps you choose, and you can switch any time in Settings. • Star Exposure Calculator — a clearer name and a redesigned result card. Tap the mode chip to flip between Balanced and Sharper in one tap. • Type any focal length or megapixel value — tap the number to edit it directly. Sliders and your recommended exposure update instantly. • Snap to common focal lengths — drag near 24, 35, 50, 85mm and other classics and the value gently snaps into place with a subtle haptic. • Same math, friendlier names — the formulas behind the scenes are unchanged. Your existing profiles and recommendations stay accurate.

This update improves the forecast planning experience, smooths out navigation and upgrade flows, and includes reliability improvements and bug fixes across the app to make planning your next astrophotography session even better.

• New Forecast tab — every night this week scored 0–100 from cloud cover, precipitation, transparency, dew risk, wind, and the Moon, weighed against your local dark hours. • Powered by Apple Weather (WeatherKit) — averaged over the astronomical-dark window at your location. • On-device Apple Intelligence summaries on iOS 26+ — deterministic scores remain authoritative; the model only narrates. • Conservative by design — stale or limited data is clearly labelled, and strong recommendations are suppressed when confidence is low. • Privacy-first — no third-party APIs, no accounts, no tracking.

Fixing a quick bug that leaked out! Whoops!

A calmer, clearer Dark Skies — and the biggest visual update since launch. AR SKY, REIMAGINED The camera view is fully redesigned to match the premium feel of Tonight's Sky. Same accurate tracking, with a quieter interface that gets out of the way of the sky itself. A NEW TONIGHT A bigger hero card surfaces what's worth shooting tonight — the Galactic Core, the Moon, and how many planets are visible during astronomical dark. One tap takes you straight to the live sky. LIVE OBJECT LABELS Point your camera at the sky and see the Galactic Core and Moon labelled in real time, right where they are. Labels fade as you pan so the screen stays uncluttered when you're framing a shot. ONE VISUAL LANGUAGE Tonight's Sky and the AR camera now share the same typography, glass cards, and color palette — moving between them feels like one tool, not two. TIGHTER UNDER THE HOOD Shared projection math means on-screen labels and off-screen arrows can never disagree. A new regression test suite keeps AR pointing accurate as we ship more. Clear skies. — Dark Skies

WHAT’S NEW IN VERSION 4.2: BETTER SKIES AHEAD This update brings precision AR tracking and powerful nightly planning tools to your field kit. We’ve tuned every calculation and refined our language to be more approachable for every photographer—from beginners to pros. AR SKY OVERLAY (NEW) Find the Milky Way, Galactic Core, and the Moon in real-time. A floating directional arrow guides you exactly where to point your camera for the perfect shot. TONIGHT TAB A dedicated dashboard for your nightly planning. See exactly when astronomical dark begins, track twilight timings, and view site-specific shooting conditions at a glance. ON-DEVICE SKY DATA Sunset, sunrise, and moon phases are now computed locally on your device. Get high-precision data even when you’re miles away from cell service. ICLOUD SYNC Your camera and lens profiles now stay in sync across all your devices. Move between your iPhone and iPad seamlessly. RELIABLE TRACKING & PRECISION Precision-tuned AR projection logic for more accurate field alignment. Improved purchase and entitlement verification for a smoother Pro experience. Love Dark Skies? Please consider leaving a rating or review—it helps us keep the stars aligned for future updates!

Plan your shoot before you leave the house. We've packed this update with new tools to help you track the sky: Tonight Tab: A new home screen with visual twilight strips, dark window tracking, and live countdowns for the week ahead. Local Ephemeris: Get local, offline computations for sun, moon, and Milky Way core times. No network or subscription needed. AR Sky Finder (Pro): Let on-screen arrows guide you to the Milky Way, galactic core, or the Moon in real-time. iCloud Sync: Keep your custom camera and lens profiles synced between your iPhone and iPad (toggle this on in Settings). UI & Accessibility Improvements: Enjoy new haptic feedback, better UI contrast, and comprehensive updates for VoiceOver and Reduce Motion. Thanks for shooting with Dark Skies! Feedback or feature requests? Tap Settings → Help & FAQ.

Fixing a crash on older devices

This version has minor bug fixes and performance enhancements

Dark Skies 4.0 This is a big release for us — and a meaningful shift in what Dark Skies stands for. We’ve removed all ads from the app. Dark Skies is now completely focused on signal, not noise. No interruptions, no distractions — just the experience you came here for. This update also introduces a stronger privacy-first foundation. We’ve reduced unnecessary data collection and rebuilt key parts of the app to ensure your information stays yours. Alongside these changes, we’ve added new features and improvements designed to make the app faster, clearer, and more intuitive to use every day. What’s new: Ads removed entirely Stronger privacy protections across the app New features and enhancements Performance and stability improvements Thanks for being part of the journey as Dark Skies evolves into a cleaner, more focused experience.