Comparison

nRF Connect for Mobile vs TryBT

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

About

TryBT

Features
Read full description

TryBT is an application to communicate with RX23W, RA4W1, and RE01B which are Renesas Electronics 32-bit MCU supporting Bluetooth Low Energy. You can check Bluetooth Low Energy communication with the firmware preinstalled in each evaluation board of RX23W, RA4W1, and RE01B. For more information on Renesas Electronics MCUs supporting Bluetooth Low Energy, please refer to the website below. Icon images as well as a project for Xcode and source code are published in this website. https://www.renesas.com/solutions/bluetooth For how to use TryBT, please refer to the document below. https://www.renesas.com/document/apn/rx23w-group-smartphone-application-trybt-android Features: 1. Searching connectable Bluetooth Low Energy devices (Scan) 2. Connecting to a Bluetooth Low Energy device (Initiation) 3. Data communication shown below with LED Switch Service uniquely defined by Renesas Electronics - Controlling blinking rate of LED mounted on Target Board for RX23W (Transmitting Write) - Updating graph triggered by a switch mounted on Target Board for RX23W (Receiving Notification)

Screenshots

nRF Connect for Mobile4 screens
TryBT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: TryBT at 14.5 against nRF Connect for Mobile's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
nRF Connect for Mobile versus TryBT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameternRF Connect for MobileTryBT
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (479 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews70.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings479 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.014.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNordic Semiconductor ASARenesas Electronics

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

TryBT

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

nRF Connect for Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

TryBT

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is nRF Connect for Mobile free?
nRF Connect for Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TryBT free?
TryBT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or TryBT have ads?
Neither nRF Connect for Mobile nor TryBT shows ads.

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