Is there a difference between any scRNA-seq visualization and pseudotime? Is there a good definition of pseudotime? Some tools are clearly labeled as pseudotime and produce values along a trajectory, but there are more complex approaches that involve branching and disconnected populations. There are 70 of them in the dynverse, so there are many options.
UMAP will also order cells, but that is generally not considered pseudotime. You can even overlay Monocle or PAGA results onto a UMAP so the cells are still ordered the same way. SPRING is specifically designed to capture continuous trajectories, but is also not considered pseudotime. Why not?
Pseudotime is the order of cells along a trajectory which in the simplest case is a minimum-spanning tree based on a (low-dimensional) manifold such as PCA or UMAP. Without a defined trajectory you have no pseudotime, and therefore UMAP is not pseudotime, but in fact can be used to define the trajectory.