nRF Connect for Mobile vs ESP View
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
nRF Connect for Mobile
This app is a versatile tool for scanning, exploring, and communicating with Bluetooth Low Energy devices. It also enables your device to act as a peripheral and supports firmware updates for compatible devices.
- Scan and discover Bluetooth LE peripherals
- Communicate with Bluetooth LE devices
- Advertise as a Bluetooth LE peripheral
- Update compatible device firmware (DFU)
- Filter scanned peripherals
- Live RSSI chart
- Log BLE function calls
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nRF Connect is a powerful generic tool that allows you to scan and explore your Bluetooth Low Energy (henceforth Bluetooth LE, also called Bluetooth Version 4.0+ of the Bluetooth specification) devices and communicate with them. nRF Connect also allows your iOS device to advertise as a peripheral, with full support of many of Bluetooth SIG adopted profiles. Additionally, nRF Connect supports Nordic Semiconductor’s Device Firmware Update profile (DFU) capabilities, allowing you to update compatible peripherals! + Features: • Supports DFU on all Nordic Semiconducto-powered devices. • Supports Nordic Thingy™ from Nordic Semiconductor. • Scan and discover nearby Bluetooth LE peripherals. • Filter Scanned Peripherals by Name, Manufacturer, Services (Advertised & Connected) and RSSI Level. • Parsing Multiple Formats of Bluetooth LE Advertisement Data. • Live RSSI Chart of Scanned Bluetooth LE Peripherals. • Complete iPad Support, including Multi-Tasking and Mouse Support as of 13.4. • Logs: Including BLE Function calls, and Export Function as CSV and Text. • Privacy-Oriented: Full-Disclosure of Scanned Data, Advertised Data, and User-Performed Actions held by nRF Connect. • Connecting to Any Connectable Bluetooth LE Smart Device. • Discovery of Services, Characteristics and Descriptors. • Read and Write Characteristics and Descriptors. • Enable and Disable Notifications and Indications. • Advertising as a Bluetooth LE Peripheral. • Setting up a Bluetooth LE (Peripheral) Server and Notifying/Indicating back to connected Central(s). • Low-Fat: nRF Connect for iOS is Very Small, so You Can Always Keep Us With You! >= Requirements: • iOS 16.0 and above. - Notes: nRF Connect also works with our Development Kits, which you may acquire online here: https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/buy-online
ESP View
This surveillance software allows for live video streaming, recording, and playback. It supports remote playback, snapshots, and PTZ control, leveraging Apple Push Notification service for efficient alerts.
- Live video streaming
- Video recording and playback
- Remote video playback
- Snapshots
- PTZ control
- Apple Push Notification service support
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ESP View is a surveillance software, which support Apple Push Notification service, support live video stream, video record and playback, video remote playback, snapshots and PTZ control, etc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: nRF Connect for Mobile at 71% against ESP View's 32%. nRF Connect for Mobile also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 10 months) and ratings volume (473 vs 3). ESP View's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 View holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: nRF Connect for Mobile has 473 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of nRF Connect for Mobile's written reviews are positive against 32% of ESP View's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update every 5 weeks, ESP View every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Connect for Mobile | ESP View |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (473 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews — better | 32.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 473 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 10 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Elite Security Products (ESP) |
Customer experience
nRF Connect for Mobile
ESP View
User reviews
nRF Connect for Mobile
From 473 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great product
- 🚀 Very handy
- 🚀 Amazing functionality
- 🚀 Love the technology
- 🚀 Versatile program
Room to improve
- 🐛 Doesn't seem to work on iOS 17
- 🐛 Can't really disconnect from peripherals
- 🐛 New update freezes on launch screen DON'T UPDATE!
- 🐛 Legacy DFU not working
- 🐛 Hitting terrible bug
ESP View
From 3 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Good quality cameras
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 🚀 Works well on Wi-Fi
- ✅ Good value for money
- 💡 Better than previous models/software
Room to improve
- 🐛 App frequently disconnects
- 🐛 Cameras often offline
- 🐛 Slow to load cameras
- 🐛 Constantly buffers
- 🐛 App seldom works
Bugs and requests
nRF Connect for Mobile
Reported bugs
4 issues- Can't read data from Bluetooth device
- Tries to ask for Bluetooth connection when Bluetooth is off. Asks to connect to devices when Bluetooth is off. Who knows what this app is doing in the background without permission?! What ever it is , it ain't good
- Tapping "tabs" doesn't work (nothing changes in the UI). To get some response from tapping UI controls typically requires (a) launching nRF Connect, (b) switching to another app, (c) switching back to nRF Connect. I've tried uninstalling and re-downloading. Same result. This used to be the bee's knees of BLE tools but it's only worth 1 star at the moment (v2.7.11).
- Cant go past the initial announcement. The app is unresponsive to the taps.
Requested features
4 requests- Where's the mac addresses
- Max rssi limit
- Log view
- We need macros in iOS version
ESP View
Reported bugs
31 issues- No WiFi connection
- Camera not working
- App not connecting to cameras
- Device keeps reverting to 'device play backing' on iPhone
- All cameras gone offline
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- Very slow to load and often won't load cameras
- Camera on television ok but doesn't work on phone
- Cameras take too long to load and constantly buffer
- App seldom works and judders
- App has been really hard to pair up
- Two cameras have stopped working
- Unable to get App to sync/connect using QR code
- App crashes, have to restart
- Program keeps dropping out while viewing cameras
- Very sensitive, alerts going off with nothing there
- Constantly going offline and won't load cameras
- One out of four cameras don't work
- App immediately shows cameras offline on mobile data
- Misted lens on camera
- App is useless, frequently disconnects
- Worst camera system ever, not worked since install
- App is down for almost 24 hours
- Terrible signal, no live picture, lags
- Playback cutting out
- Keeps going off
- Often showing cameras as offline when opening app
- App regularly comes up as 'Offline'
- Not fit for purpose, keeps losing hard drive
- Gaps in recording history
- Problems with logging in since latest update
- Loose connection when watching cameras sometimes
Requested features
6 requests- Add cameras to system if only 4 ports
- Scrub feature for playback
- Desktop version of the app
- Combine camera products into one app
- Make view larger on the app
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- Have a photo attached to thumbnail
In-app purchases
nRF Connect for Mobile
No in-app purchases
ESP View
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Connect for Mobile free?
Is ESP View free?
Which has better reviews, nRF Connect for Mobile or ESP View?
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or ESP View have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or ESP View?
Other comparisons
