Bluetooth Smart Discover vs Simple BLE Scanner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bluetooth Smart Discover
Scan and connect to nearby Bluetooth Low Energy devices. Discover services and characteristics, then read, write, or enable notifications. View standard advertising data from BLE broadcasters.
- Scan for BLE peripherals
- Connect to BLE devices
- Discover services and characteristics
- Read/write BLE characteristics
- Enable BLE notifications
- View BLE broadcaster advertising data
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Microchip’s SmartDiscover provides the ability to scan and connect to nearby Microchip Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) peripherals and listen to BLE broadcasters. Once connected to a BLE peripheral, the user can discover all the services and characteristics that are enabled in the peripheral. It lets the user read, write or enable notifications as appropriate for the discovered characteristics. The standard advertising data types included in the advertisement data of the discovered BLE broadcasters can also be checked.
Simple BLE Scanner
This application scans for nearby Bluetooth Low Energy devices and presents them in a filterable list. It displays crucial information for each device, including advertised data, signal strength, and timestamps. Users can easily start and stop the scanning process.
- Scan for nearby BLE devices
- Display discovered devices in a list
- Filter list by search field
- Display advertised data and RSSI
- Display Timestamp for each device
- Sort advertised data alphabetically
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This app scans for nearby Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices and displays them in a list. The list can be filtered by a search field, and the advertised data of each device is displayed in the list. The app also displays the RSSI (received signal strength indicator) value for each device, and the timestamp of every lookup in human readable format. The app has a button for starting or stopping the scan. Features - Scan for nearby BLE devices - Display discovered devices in a list - Filter list by search field - Display advertised data and RSSI value for each device - Display Timestamp for each device - Sort advertised data alphabetically - Start and stop scan with a button Requirements - iOS 12.0 or later
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bluetooth Smart Discover at 50% against Simple BLE Scanner's 0%. Bluetooth Smart Discover also leads on update cadence (every 8 months vs every 36 months) and iOS requirement (8.1 vs 15.6). Simple BLE Scanner's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Simple BLE Scanner holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Bluetooth Smart Discover's written reviews are positive against 0% of Simple BLE Scanner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Bluetooth Smart Discover ships an update every 8 months, Simple BLE Scanner every 36 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bluetooth Smart Discover | Simple BLE Scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months — better | Every 36 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.1 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Microchip Technology Inc. | Christian Moeller |
Customer experience
Bluetooth Smart Discover
Simple BLE Scanner
In-app purchases
Bluetooth Smart Discover
No in-app purchases
Simple BLE Scanner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bluetooth Smart Discover free?
Is Simple BLE Scanner free?
Which has better reviews, Bluetooth Smart Discover or Simple BLE Scanner?
Do Bluetooth Smart Discover or Simple BLE Scanner have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bluetooth Smart Discover or Simple BLE Scanner?
Other comparisons
