My Moon Phase Pro

Review by eFreeware

Planning anything around the moon usually means piecing together several sources: a phase calendar, a weather forecast, and a rough idea of when the light will be right for a photo. That is the gap My Moon Phase Pro is built to close, pulling the lunar calendar and the practical timing details into one place. It is published by JRustonApps B.V. and costs $3.99.

The app has been on Google Play since June 2016 and carries a 4.8 average from 2,512 ratings, with more than 10,000 installs. Those numbers suggest a settled, well-liked tool rather than a novelty, and the focus is narrow enough that I'd expect most people who install it know exactly why they want it.

A lunar calendar that opens on today

The core of the app is the moon cycle itself. The main screen lists the phases coming up, so you can see the next full, new, first-quarter and last-quarter moons without opening any menus. Moonrise and moonset times sit alongside that, which matters if you are trying to work out whether the moon will be up during the hours you actually have free.

The design is deliberately dark, and the developer presents that as a choice that makes the information easy to read. I can see the logic: a lunar app is often checked in the evening or before dawn, when a bright interface would be the last thing you want.

There is more depth than the main screen suggests. For any chosen date, the app reports the moon's altitude, age and distance from Earth. Those figures are the sort of detail that turns a simple phase display into something closer to a reference tool.

Looking ahead to any date

You are not limited to tonight. Scrolling along the date bar or tapping the calendar button moves you to the moon cycle for any future date, which is the feature that makes the app useful for planning rather than just checking. If you are organizing a night shoot, a stargazing trip or an event that depends on a bright moon, this is where you would start.

You can either let the app use where you are or choose a spot yourself. That second option is the one I'd value most, since a lot of moon planning happens for somewhere you are not yet standing. Choosing a spot in advance means the rise and set times you see belong to the place you are actually going.

A cloud cover outlook for the coming days rounds out the picture. Knowing the phase is only half the question; the developer includes expected cloudiness so you can judge whether the moon will be visible at all. It is a sensible pairing, and it saves a trip to a separate weather source.

Timing tools for photographers

For anyone shooting at dusk or dawn, the app lists golden hour and blue hour times, which are the windows photographers tend to plan around. The developer frames this as a way to calculate when to take your best shots, and it fits naturally with the rest of the data on offer.

What appeals to me here is the combination rather than any single number. A phase, a rise time, a location and a light window in one view is a more useful starting point than assembling the same facts from three different places.

Notifications and alerts are available for a phase you choose, so the app can tell you when the moon reaches a point you care about. If you keep missing full moons because they arrive without warning, that is a straightforward fix.

What the pro version adds, and what it costs

This is the paid edition. It costs $3.99, it carries no ads, and it includes home screen widgets. The free version offers the same core functionality.

The app also offers in-app purchases, which sit alongside the initial price. That is worth knowing before you buy.

Recent updates brought improved support for tablets and foldable phones, plus bug fixes and performance improvements. That is a small signal, but a reassuring one for anyone planning to use the app on a larger screen.

Who the app is built for

The clearest audience is photographers who work after dark or at the edges of the day. Golden hour, blue hour, moonrise and cloud cover are exactly the pieces someone needs when deciding whether an evening out with a camera is worth it.

Skywatchers come a close second. If you like knowing when the next full moon falls, or you want an alert when a phase you care about arrives, the app handles that without much effort. The altitude and distance figures will appeal to anyone who enjoys the numbers as much as the view.

It is a focused tool, and that focus is the point. There is no attempt here to be a general weather app or a full astronomy suite; the lunar calendar and the timing around it are the whole subject. If that subject is one you return to regularly, the scope is a strength rather than a limitation.

A quiet, well-liked companion for moon planning

My Moon Phase Pro does one job with more care than most general-purpose weather apps bother with. The phase display, rise and set times, location choice, cloud outlook and photography windows cover the questions people actually ask when the moon matters to their plans.

The $3.99 price buys an ad-free version with widgets, and the in-app purchases are something to be aware of rather than a reason to avoid it. If you want the lunar calendar in a form you can check quickly and trust, this is a reasonable place to spend a few dollars.

I'd point photographers who plan shoots around the light, and anyone who tracks phases closely enough to want alerts, toward this one. It is a small, specific app, and it knows what it is for.

What's new in version 26.5.4

- Improved support for tablets and foldable phones. - Bug fixes and performance improvements.