nRF Connect for Mobile vs btSWARM
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
btSWARM
This utility app helps locate proprietary beacons within shipments sent to retailers. It provides a specialized tool for tracking goods in transit.
- Locate proprietary beacons
- Track shipments to retailers
- Specialized utility tool
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The SWARM application is customized to locate proprietary beacons placed inside shipments sent to retailers.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: btSWARM at 5.0 against nRF Connect for Mobile's 4.5. btSWARM also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). nRF Connect for Mobile's advantage is ratings volume (473 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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.
btSWARM 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | nRF Connect for Mobile | btSWARM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (473 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 473 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Bluepixel Technologies LLP |
Customer experience
nRF Connect for Mobile
btSWARM
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
btSWARM
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
nRF Connect for Mobile
No in-app purchases
btSWARM
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Connect for Mobile free?
Is btSWARM free?
Which has better reviews, nRF Connect for Mobile or btSWARM?
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or btSWARM have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or btSWARM?
Other comparisons
