Release Notes

This page contains the complete changelog for the various versions of Sun Surveyor.

Sun Surveyor (Android) | Sun Surveyor (iOS) | Sun Surveyor Lite (Android) | Sun Surveyor Lite (iOS)

Sun Surveyor (Android):
v1.9.6
- languages: 中文（繁體）- Chinese (Traditional) translation by Lincol Lin, many thanks!

v1.9.5 – Holo update
- UI: Holo-themed updates, making use of the Action Bar for ICS+, some icon and graphic updates
- UI: minor widget layout updates for ICS+ and Jellybean compatibility
- UI: minor enhancements for tablets
- fix for a Map View (v2) crash
- fix for day length calculation in extremes of the world, when there is a rise but no set or vice versa
- localization fix: time picker now respects device setting for 24 hour format
- languages: update to Czech translation for the new Map View features

v1.9 – Map View Update!
- Map View (2.3+): Uses the new Google Maps API, including Terrain maps, 3d vector maps, tilt and rotate gestures
- Map View (2.3+): With elevation lookups, will now show difference in vertical angle between locations; elevations can also be manually edited
- Map View – the old map view can still be used, a preference toggle is there. Please contact me for any issues with the new Map View!
- Elevation Lookups: preference to turn Elevation lookups on – uses data connection to get Elevation information for locations from Google, GeoNames
- Details: added current moon phase image to summary, added address text to extract
- Units: Metric vs Imperial – preference to specify unit system for elevation and distance
- Search: added fallback location search implementation to solve issue in certain instances where service is not available/working
- Enter Coordinates: bugfix for locales which use comma decimal separators
- Date/Time display: fix for improper date/time separators in certain Locales
- Miscellaneous fixes and cleanup

v1.8.5
- Estonian (Eesti) Translation by Teet Koitjärv (www.koitjarv.ee) for devices supporting Estonian

v1.8.4
- Danish (Dansk) Translation by Per Bækgaard (www.b4net.dk)

v1.8.3
- Japanese (日本語) Translation by Shuhei Okumura, PhD
- minor fixes

v1.8.2
- Afrikaans Translation by Hendrik Bosman – many thanks!
- 3D Compass: added Sensor Preference – can now use different sensor options, such as the new Rotation Vector. If experiencing issues with the 3D Compass (for example Nexus 7 with 4.2.1), try the Rotation Vector.
- AR View, 3d Compass: 4.1+ now defaulting to use Rotation Vector sensor
- Sensor Accuracy Reporting updates

v1.8.1.2
- AR View: fix for ZTE Blade not properly reporting horizontal camera view angle
- AR View: fix for Samsung Galaxy Gio improperly rotating camera 90 degrees

v1.8.1.1
- Widgets: improvements and fixes for GPS/location handling

v1.8.1
- Widgets (Jellybean 4.2+): Sun & Moon lockscreen widgets
- Details: Moon Phase Dates are now included when sharing details
- Details: Latitude / Longitude also shown in DDD°MM’SS”[N,S,W,E] format, for reference
- Widgets: indicate when GPS is disabled and can’t update. Any issues with widgets, email me. Quickest way to reset widgets is to add and remove one.
- AR View: for new installs, default to landscape orientation for max. compatibility
- added xxhdpi launcher icon
- minor updates and fixes

v1.8.0.3
- fix for one more htc device
- bugfix for sun/moon graphic time calculation

v1.8.0.2
- AR View: report accuracy for magnetometer when using Rotation Vector, RV accuracy seems to always be reported as high, which can obscure the need for calibration
- fix for AR View portrait mode on HTC Desire HD, possibly other HTC devices
- fix for rare autofocus, zoom button errors on certain devices

v1.8.0.1
- AR View: (2.3+) fix for certain devices (Sony Xperia, others) reporting camera FOV incorrectly as 0 degrees. A default is now set. Use pinch-to-zoom to adjust the FOV.
- bugfix for path time interpolation showing randomly
- updates to French Translation

v1.8 (AR View: Major Improvements)
- AR View: Uses a perspective projection for increased path accuracy.
- AR View: (2.3+) uses the camera reported field of view. For 2.1+, pinch-zoom will still adjust the field of view.
- AR View: (2.3+) can use the Rotation Vector sensor which integrates the Gyroscope if present, for a much smoother display. To try this, un-check “Use Classic Sensors.”
- AR View: (2.3+) AR View will use natural orientation of the device (portrait for most phones).
- AR View: For compatibility reasons, sensor settings and screen orientation are configurable via preferences.
- Czech Translation by Michal Kroužel, many thanks!
- Details Summary: cleaned up Moon Phase display
- Various performance improvements and optimizations
- AR View: (2.3+) fix for AR View crash when switching back and forth with other Camera applications
- Installation: Installation to internal storage now required, due to widgets and to prepare for any forthcoming features, SD card no longer allowed.

v1.7.3.1
- bugfix for moonphase graphic (removed black box)

v1.7.3
- New Widget: Moon Phase Dates – shows dates for upcoming moon phases
- Details (Summary): Added Moon Phase Dates for upcoming moon phases
- Updates to Italian Translation, thanks to Walter Tross
- Added back Lock Pitch, Lock Bearing preferences for 3D Compass per user request

v1.7.2
- Dutch Translation by Thibaud Taudin Chabot, many thanks!
- fixed moonphase translation for “Waxing Gibbous” in German translation
- fixed some moonphase translations for Norwegian translation
- fixed sunset azimuth on Sun 2×3 widget

v1.7.1
- Norsk (bokmål) [Norwegian] translation by Håvard Bartnes, many thanks!
- Updates to Spanish Translation

v1.7
- French Translation by Vincent Lootens, many thanks!
- New Feature: Equinoxes! Now the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes can be shown on the AR, 3D Compass and Map View
- New Feature: AR View: “Show Sub-horizon Paths” preference: will now show sun, moon paths below horizon when selected
- Show Sun/Moon path hours is now a single item for all paths
- bugfix for compass bearing display

v1.6.7
- Widgets: Moonrise and moonset now shown in chronological order
- Widgets: layout fixes for HTC Sense
- Time Zones: updated time zone database

v1.6.6
- Türkçe (Turkish) Translation by Ramazan Şen, many thanks!
- Minor updates to widget text

v1.6.5
- WIDGETS: 6 additional widgets! (8 total)
- AR View: increased text size for Path Hours
- AR View: will now work on devices without back facing camera (ex. Nexus 7)
- MapView: better handling of fling and zoom gestures
- Layout enhancements for Large Screen (7″) devices
- minor fixes and improvements

v1.6
WIDGETS! – basic widgets for sun and moon information for your current location
- русский (Russian) translation by Никита Сидоров, Сергей Лукс (Nikita Sidorov, Sergey Louks), many thanks!
- Use passive location provider when quick location fix enabled (2.2+)

v1.5.0.1
- AR Camera: screenshot fixes for various devices including HTC One X – please email if you have a device where screenshot is not working
- AR Camera: icon update
- Details: Added illumination % and waxing/waning indicator next to Moonrise/Moonset

v1.5
- AR Camera: new Path Time Interpolation implementation, fully functional
- Major under the hood updates, performance optimizations, code base improvement to support future functionality
- MapView: added dedicated +/- zoom buttons, cleaned up icons
- Details: Added Solar Noon
- Details: removed summary from Sun, Moon tables for simpler view
- AR Camera: Smoother grid-line display

v1.4.10.1
- crashfix for froyo galaxy tab 7 pt-1000

v1.4.10
- bugfix: Time Zone name not reflecting DST
- bugfix: AR View path interpolation crash
- bugfix: updated some dialog display properties for ICS screens in landscape
- eliminated some seldom-used preferences
- updates to German translation
- added new menu icon artwork and other icon updates

v1.4.9 (German translation)
- German Translation by Marco Götze

v1.4.8 (Spanish, Italian translations)
- Spanish Translation by Francisco Javier Fonseca Padilla and Juan Pablo Fonseca Padilla
- Italian Translation by Samuele Tovagli
- bugfix: Allow December/June Solstice arcs to be the sole item displayed

v1.4.7
- ** NEW FEATURE ** Details – Added Golden Hour and Blue Hour times to the ephemeris
- ** beta feature ** AR Camera – (turn on in Preferences) when pointing the camera at the Sun or Moon’s path, shows the time when the Sun or Moon will be at that position on the path
- Compass, AR Camera, Map View – smoother path arcs and additional rendering optimizations
- 3D Compass – simplified mini display
- bugfix for detail listings not showing magnetic north compensated values

v1.4.6
- Send Screenshot + Details: All screenshots are now saved to the device gallery in the “Sun Surveyor” album (sorry for the long wait!)
- Send Details: Choose which details to email, including the new Sun, Moon daily tables
- Details: Less obtrusive “calculating…” indicator
- 3D Compass: slight visual update

v1.4.5.1
- Bugfix for Lenovo Thinkpad tablet
- Add azimuth disclaimer to details email

v1.4.5 (Honeycomb, ICS, Details)
- **GLOBAL CHANGE** “North is True North” – when unchecked, this will now show all readings based on Magnetic North, such as can be used immediately with an un-compensated compass, Magnetic Declination is always applied, only the bearing values will change
- ** NEW FEATURE ** Details – added tabs for Sun and Moon daily azimuth and altitude tables
- Date/Time entry – added Calendar view for Tablet displays, fixed bug for keyboard entry of values
- AR Camera – Compatibility updates for screenshots
- AR Camera, 3D Compass – performance, smoothness optimizations
- Order of Quick Slider Mode Button is now Year->Day->Hour
- Honeycomb and ICS – using updated OS “Holo” themes for dialogs, menus, widgets, etc
- Honeycomb and ICS – using hardware accelerated rendering
- 3D Compass – updated visual style
- Allow installation/moving to SD Card
- Added “What’s New” to menu on main dashboard
- Performance optimizations for 3D Compass, AR Camera modes

v1.4.2
- AR Camera, 3D Compass: added sensor accuracy warnings
- Calibration: added sensor accuracy display
- Preferences: added jitter correction setting for AR Camera
- Miscellaneous bug fixes and performance updates

v1.4.1
- Replaced mode switcher on slider bar with fine-adjustment buttons
- Default to quick slider mode

v1.4
- * NEW FEATURE: Time Zone Preferences: Local/Network, Auto-Detect (based on latitude/longitude), Manual (select from a list)
- Accuracy: Added location quick fix preference, option to disable for potentially more accurate, but slower and more power consuming location fix
- Usability: Added quick slider mode preference, tapping the time machine slider button will cycle through modes instead of launching the dialog
- Usability: Added text size preference for better readability options
- Usability: Added preference to toggle display of legend, added overlay item setup in preferences
- Map View: Added option to toggle compass lines in Map Layers dialog
- Map View: Moved “Last Location Fix” and “Saved Locations” to Map Layers dialog for easy access
- Map View: Double-tap to zoom in
- AR Camera: Fixes for +/- zoom buttons for certain devices
- Minor performance updates

v1.3
- * NEW FEATURE: Major Map View updates, can now lock your location point, and choose a target subject point and lock that to better line up shots
- * NEW FEATURE: Search button added to Location Source Menu (top left of screen), search for locations
- See new “Map Help” in the Help section for more info on the Map View update
- Renamed “About” to “Help”, added more prominent button for help in module switcher
- Increased text size of legend overlay and changed info color to white for better readability
- Slight visual adjustments to AR, 3D Compass for pinch zooming functionality, gridlines for AR
- Added Flurry analytics to better understand the most and least used features of the app

v1.2.6.2
- * NEW FEATURE: Added “One Hour” to slider mode menu – fine-grained adjustment for the Sun/Moon path slider
- 3D Compass & Map – Added shadow direction indicator (small circle) on outside of compass to aid in lining up shadow angles
- Eliminated preferred installation to SD Card, a few users were encountering issues with this
- Removed Date/Time pop-up “Toast” from bottom of screen, instead the Date/Time will appear in Red while it is being adjusted with the slider
- AR Camera & 3D Compass – Additional performance optimizations for faster/smoother display
- Fixed a moon phase graphic bug
- (1.2.6.1) Fixed a bug with Solstice calculation caching
- (1.2.6.2) Fixed a Map View crash
- (1.2.6.2) Increased text size slightly and added shadow to legend text to aid readability

v1.2.5
- * NEW FEATURE: Summer and Winter Solstice Paths – the Maximum and Minimum paths of the Sun in year – tap the legend to toggle the display
- Added Camera Zoom Controls to AR Camera Module (OS 2.2+ and camera must support zoom)
- Added Dedicated Screenshot button to AR Camera Module (press and hold to focus, release to take snapshot)
- Saved location coordinate formatting now also uses DDD +/- format
- Minor drawing optimizations and fixes

v1.2.3
- Updated AR Camera Screenshot functionality to generally support all devices – if it does not work on yours please get in touch!
- Removed ambiguity from location coordinates, using DDD +/- format
* The recent Motorola Droid X 2.3.3 OTA update may have caused issues with the compass, AR Camera mode may behave strangely, as may some other apps.
* HTC Droid Incredible 2 users have reported issues with the compass in AR Camera mode, OTA for OS 2.3.3 has fixed this issue

v1.2.2
- Updated visuals for tablet (xlarge) screens
- Added preferences to toggle gridlines and mini-display in AR mode
- Default installation to SD card (2.2+)

v1.2 (major update)
- * NEW Camera View – completely rewritten, 360 degree spherical Augmented Reality showing the Sun and Moon paths and items overlaid onto the camera, as requested by users, replacing the old view
- * NEW Camera View – Pinch/zoom to adjust field of view – device cameras may have different fields of view.
- * NEW FEATURE: Compass View, Map View – shows hours on the Sun and Moon paths, can be toggled by tapping the legend
- * NEW FEATURE: Screenshot + Details in Camera View – *may not be compatible with all devices
- Visual enhancements to the Compass overlay for readability
- Updated documentation and Usage Tips in the “About” section
- Removed dashed lines from visualization
- Added preference to adjust calibration offset, will rotate compass by an additional amount if the calibration does not seem to be producing correct readings
- Stability fixes for Camera view

v1.0.6
- * NEW FEATURE (User Requested): New Menu Options – “Send Screenshot & Details,” “Send Details” (excludes Camera module) – Send location information via email, SMS, etc with an optional Screenshot
- Camera Mode: Trigger auto-focus (if camera hardware allows) by touching the screen

v1.0.5
- * NEW FEATURE: Shadow Ratio, calculation of the Sun shadow ratio, with the shadow displayed in proportion to the green pin’s height, and ratio displayed on the legend
- Usability: Increased tap-able area for location and date/time
- Default Change: For new users, Use Last Location and Default to Now preferences will start out as true
- Miscellaneous minor updates

v1.0.4
- Localization: Date/Time now formatted according to phone settings
- Location: Added preference to default to last location at startup
- Date/Time: Added preference to default to current time at startup
- Pinch to Zoom (experimental): Pinch to zoom on 3D Compass and Camera modules: change the field of view
- Miscellaneous minor fixes

v1.0.3
- Performance: additional calculation optimizations for slower phones

v1.0.2
- Fixed bug with What’s New

v1.0.1
- Performance: Improved rendering speed while moving the Time Machine slider
- Date/Time Picker: Made middle “Now” button more efficient, will set and close with one click
- Readability: Increased text size of legend

Sun Surveyor (iOS):
v1.2.5
- languages: Danish (Dansk) Translation by Per Bækgaard (www.b4net.dk)
- added toggle (Date/Time, Date, Time) button to Date/Time input to allow input of year

v1.2.4
- languages: Japanese (日本語) Translation by Shuhei Okumura, PhD

v1.2.3
- iPhone 5 / Retina 4″ support
- fixed bug with Golden Hour showing midnight in places/times where there is none

v1.2.2
- Details: Added Moon Phase Dates for upcoming moon phases
- Czech Translation by Michal Kroužel, many thanks!
- updates to Italian Translation by Walter Tross
- iOS 6+ fixes for iPad screen rotations
- Flurry analytics

v1.2.1
- languages: Dutch translation by Thibaud Taudin Chabot
- languages: Norsk (bokmål) [Norwegian] translation by Håvard Bartnes
- languages: Español (Spanish) Translation by Francisco Javier Fonseca Padilla and Juan Pablo Fonseca Padilla
- fix for “Waxing Gibbous” in German Translation

v1.2
- New Feature: Equinox Paths – shows the Vernal and Autumnal equinoxes on the 3d Compass, Map View and Augmented Reality View
- languages: French Translation by Vincent Lootens

v1.1.7
- AR View: increased path hour text size
- Send Details: fix for lat/long/alt info
- русский (Russian) Translation by Nikita Sidorov, Sergey Louks (Никита Сидоров, Сергей Лукс)
- Türkçe (Turkish) Translation by Ramazan Şen

v1.1.6
- All Views: Added Illumination %, waxing/waning indicator to Moonrise/Moonset
- Calculation model fixes for dawn/dusk/blue hour times in extreme regions of the world
- Details: bugfix for emailed data tables not showing True North values when “North is True North” is set
- Details: bugfix for time listings to be even multiples of 15 minutes
- Alert users if location services are disabled when requesting a GPS location
- When location services disabled, compass headings will now work for calibration, 3d compass

v1.1.5
- AR View: option to show sun/moon/solstice paths below the horizon
- Details: Added Solar Noon
- Data Legend: replaced preference to show data legend with tappable expand/contract images
- Prevent screen dimming for ARView, 3D Compass & Calibration modules
- bugfix: Map View on iPad now immediately displaying new saved location pins

v1.1
- iPad support: now a Universal app, also removed GPS requirement
- screenshots: attachment filenames now have timestamps, .png extension
- screenshots: images automatically saved to device camera roll/saved images
- bugfix (5.1+): screenshots, camera image matches screen aspect ratio

v1.0.5
- bugfix: Moon graphic in AR View when held in landscape
- languages: German Translation by Marco Götze
- languages: Italian Translation by Samuele Tovagli

Sun Surveyor Lite (Android):
v1.4.2
- languages: 中文（繁體）- Chinese (Traditional) translation by Lincol Lin, many thanks!

v1.4.1
- languages: French Translation by Vincent Lootens
- languages: Italian Translation by Walter Tross, Samuele Tovagli
- languages: русский (Russian) translation by Никита Сидоров, Сергей Лукс (Nikita Sidorov, Sergey Louks)

v1.4
- UI: Holo-themed updates, making use of the Action Bar for ICS+, some icon and graphic updates
- fix for day length calculation in extremes of the world, when there is a rise but no set or vice versa

v1.3.4
- languages: Norsk (bokmål) [Norwegian] translation by Håvard Bartnes
- localization: time picker now respects device setting for 24 hour format

v1.3.3
- languages: Japanese (日本語) Translation by Shuhei Okumura, PhD
- languages: German Translation by Marco Götze
- languages: Dutch translation by Thibaud Taudin Chabot
- languages: Türkçe (Turkish) Translation by Ramazan Şen
- minor layout updates

v1.3.2
- Details: big update: added Blue Hour times, Golden Hour times, Solar Noon from Full Version
- Details: Latitude / Longitude also shown in DDD°MM’SS”[N,S,W,E] format, for reference
- 3D Compass: added Sensor preference – can now use different sensor options, such as the new Rotation Vector. If experiencing issues with the 3D Compass (for example Nexus 7 with 4.2.1), try the Rotation Vector.
- 3D Compass: 4.1+ now defaulting to use Rotation Vector sensor
- added xxhdpi launcher icon

v1.3.1
- bugfix for compass bearing display

v1.3
- Updated icons/menu graphics
- Updates/fixes for Jelly Bean
- Added Calibration item to Main Menu
- Layout improvements for Large screen devices (ex. Nexus 7)
- Use passive location provider when available (2.2+)
- Simplified preferences

v1.2.6
- 3D Compass – simplified mini display, smoother path arcs and additional rendering optimizations

v1.2.5 (Honeycomb, ICS, various updates from full version)
- **GLOBAL CHANGE** “North is True North” – when unchecked, this will now show all readings based on Magnetic North, such as can be used immediately with an un-compensated compass, Magnetic Declination is always applied, only the bearing values will change
- Date/Time entry – added Calendar view for Tablet displays, fixed bug for keyboard entry of values
- Order of Quick Slider Mode Button is now Year->Day->Hour
- Honeycomb and ICS – using updated OS “Holo” themes for dialogs, menus, widgets, etc
- Honeycomb and ICS – using hardware accelerated rendering
- 3D Compass – updated visual style
- 3D Compass: added sensor accuracy warnings
- Calibration: added sensor accuracy display
- Added “What’s New” to menu on main dashboard
- Miscellaneous bug fixes and performance updates
- Performance optimizations for 3D Compass

v1.2.1
- Fix for menu button on Honeycomb+ devices

v1.2
- Replaced mode switcher on slider bar with fine-adjustment buttons
- Default to quick slider mode
- AdMob for ads

v1.1
- Usability Enhancements: Text Size, Slider Mode Preferences
- Slider: added “One Hour” mode for fine-grained adjustments
- Renamed “About” to “Help”
- Increased text size of legend overlay and changed info color to white for better readability
- Performance enhancements, bug fixes, other miscellaneous changes from the Full Version
- Changed install location to “auto”, app can be installed on either sd card or internal memory
- Added Flurry Analytics for better understanding of features and application usage

v1.0.7
- Updated visuals for tablet (xlarge) screens
- Default installation to SD card (2.2+)
- Minor performance optimizations

v1.0.6
- Updated visualization for the Compass overlay
- Removed dashed lines from visualization
- Performance optimizations, minor bug fixes

v1.0.4
- Localization: Date/Time now formatted according to phone settings
- Location: Added preference to default to last location at startup
- Date/Time: Added preference to default to current time at startup
- Pinch to Zoom (experimental): Pinch to zoom on the 3D Compass module: change the field of view
- Miscellaneous minor fixes

v1.0.3
- Performance: additional calculation optimizations for slower phones

Sun Surveyor Lite (iOS):
v1.1
- iPhone 5/Retina 4″ support
- iOS 6+ fixes for iPad screen rotations
- Flurry SDK