# nRF Connect for Mobile vs beacio

The clearest difference is update cadence: beacio at every 6 days against nRF Connect for Mobile's every 5 weeks. nRF Connect for Mobile's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update every 5 weeks, beacio every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | nRF Connect for Mobile | beacio |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (476 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nrf-connect-for-mobile/id1054362403/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **476** | — |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 15 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nordic Semiconductor ASA](https://appshunter.io/developer/497679114) | [Wojciech Kulma](https://appshunter.io/developer/1819525263) |

## What reviewers say

### nRF Connect for Mobile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nrf-connect-for-mobile/id1054362403)

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great product
- 🚀 Very handy
- 🚀 Amazing functionality
- 🚀 Love the technology
- 🚀 Versatile program

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- Where's the mac addresses
- Max rssi limit
- Log view
- We need macros in iOS version


### beacio

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beacio/id6761301368)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is nRF Connect for Mobile free?

nRF Connect for Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is beacio free?

beacio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do nRF Connect for Mobile or beacio have ads?

Neither nRF Connect for Mobile nor beacio shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or beacio?

nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update every 5 weeks, and beacio every 6 days. Most recently, nRF Connect for Mobile was updated on October 27, 2026 and beacio on October 24, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*