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Indie App Spotlight: ‘Zephy’ makes plane spotting easy, with an AirTag-style interface

Avatar for Michael Burkhardt  | Jan 10 2026 - 12:30 pm PT
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Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

If you’ve ever found yourself looking into the sky and wondered “huh, that plane looks a little interesting’ – Zephy is a fun plane tracking tool that uses your iPhone’s gyroscope to show you what exactly is around you. It’s rather nifty.

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Maybe you’re not necessarily someone who looks into the sky and questions what plane is above you – though I know I am. Or, maybe, you see something in the sky that looks a bit peculiar, like a military plane, a private jet of sorts, or just a helicopter. If you ever find yourself even slightly curious, Zephy is a neat app for the job.

Zephy cuts a lot of the clutter out of traditional flight radar apps, and gives you a simple compass-style radar view of what planes are flying overhead. Then, you can just tap into an individual plane to view more information – including altitude, speed, tail number, destination, plane model, and more. You can also see an example photo of the plane model.

Lastly, you can customize the range and field of view. By default it shows planes within 20km, but you can both increase and decrease that. You can also make the field of view wider or narrower for the compass feature.

Download the app

Zephy is available for free on the App Store for iPhone users running iOS 13 and later. There’s no ads, in app purchases, or subscriptions.

All in all, Zephy is a fun little app that brings an AirTag-style UI to tracking aircraft around you. It might not be a necessity for everyone, but its a cool app to have on your phone if you ever feel a little curious about whats in the sky.

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Avatar for Michael Burkhardt Michael Burkhardt

Michael is 9to5Mac’s Weekend Editor, keeping up with all of the latest Apple news on Saturday and Sunday. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer in his free time, and has published numerous apps over the years.

Michael Burkhardt's favorite gear

Anker 25K Compact Battery Bank

Featuring two built in cables, a built in display, multiple ports, a 25,000mAh capacity, and up to 100W of output - this is one of the best battery banks for recharging your entire Apple ecosystem on the go.

AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C)

AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C)

Despite a new version reportedly being around a corner, I still personally believe AirPods Pro 2 are a great deal. They're already equipped with USB-C, and continually gain new software features. With them consistently going on sale, it's a great purchase to make. Features like Adaptive Audio are incredible.