TI SimpleLink™ Starter vs ESP BLE Provisioning
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TI SimpleLink™ Starter
Connects Simplelink™ Sensortags and Launchpads to your smartphone and the cloud via Bluetooth Low Energy and WiFi. Supports Over-the-Air upgrades and cloud connectivity through MQTT or dweet.io. Compatible with various development kits.
- Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity
- WiFi support
- Cloud connectivity (MQTT, dweet.io)
- Over-the-Air upgrades
- Supports multiple development kits
- Smartphone integration
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This app connects all your Simplelink(TM) Sensortags and Launchpads to your smartphone and the cloud with Bluetooth Low Energy and WiFi support. Includes support for Over-the-Air upgrades for all development platforms. Cloud connectivity is supported through MQTT to any cloudservice or with dweet.io. To learn more, see the web links to each development kit. The following development kits are currently supported: CC26xR LaunchPad CC1352R LauncPad CC2650 LaunchPad - www.ti.com/launchxl-cc2650 CC2650 SensorTag - www.ti.com/sensortag CC3200 SensorTag - www.ti.com/sensortag CC2650 Remote Control - www.ti.com/rc LPSTK
ESP BLE Provisioning
Configure Wi-Fi credentials for ESP32 or ESP8266 devices using BLE. Supports Wi-Fi scanning and proof of possession for secure network setup. Ideal for developers working with ESP IDF.
- BLE Wi-Fi provisioning
- ESP IDF v3.2+ support
- Security Level 1
- Proof of Possession (PoP)
- Wi-Fi scan list
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This app can be used to send Wi-Fi Network credentials (Network name and Passphrase) to ESP32 or ESP8266 devices over BLE transport using the wifi-provisioning feature of ESP IDF (V3.2 and later). Supported Features - BLE based Wi-Fi Provisioning from IDF v3.2 and later - Security Level 1 - Proof of Possession (PoP) - Wi-Fi scan list Please refer https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/stable/api-reference/provisioning/wifi_provisioning.html for additional information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ESP BLE Provisioning at 3.1 against TI SimpleLink™ Starter's 2.1. ESP BLE Provisioning also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 0%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
ESP BLE Provisioning holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of TI SimpleLink™ Starter's written reviews are positive against 33% of ESP BLE Provisioning's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on August 13, 2026 and August 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TI SimpleLink™ Starter | ESP BLE Provisioning |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (7 ratings) | 3.1 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 291 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Texas Instruments | ESPRESSIF SYSTEMS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD. |
Customer experience
TI SimpleLink™ Starter
ESP BLE Provisioning
In-app purchases
TI SimpleLink™ Starter
No in-app purchases
ESP BLE Provisioning
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TI SimpleLink™ Starter free?
Is ESP BLE Provisioning free?
Which has better reviews, TI SimpleLink™ Starter or ESP BLE Provisioning?
Do TI SimpleLink™ Starter or ESP BLE Provisioning have ads?
Which is updated more often, TI SimpleLink™ Starter or ESP BLE Provisioning?
Other comparisons
