nRF Connect for Mobile vs Reachy Mini
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
Reachy Mini
Control a wireless robot directly from your smartphone. Connect to Wi-Fi or 5G to access a growing ecosystem of interactive applications, from AI conversations and games to smart home integrations and remote monitoring. No coding experience is needed.
- Direct smartphone control
- Wi-Fi/5G connectivity
- AI-powered conversations
- Music and quiz games
- Smart home integrations
- Remote monitoring
- Access live camera feed
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Reachy Mini is the official app for controlling your Reachy Mini Wireless robot directly from your smartphone. Plug it in, connect to Wi-Fi or 5G, sign in with your Hugging Face account, and your robot is ready to go. Reachy Mini brings robotics and AI into an accessible, playful, and fully plug-and-play experience designed for everyone: from curious beginners and families to makers, developers, educators, and AI enthusiasts. Discover a growing ecosystem of interactive applications: - AI conversations - Music and quiz games - Educational experiences for kids - Smart home integrations - Remote monitoring and telepresence The app ecosystem evolves every day thanks to the rise of AI agents and open-source creators building new experiences faster than ever. With the Reachy Mini app, you can use your robot anywhere and: - Talk naturally with AI-powered assistants - Control your robot remotely (access the live camera feed, control head movements and interactions) - Browse and launch community apps instantly No coding experience is required to get started. About Reachy Mini Reachy Mini is an open-source robot created by Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics. The robot comes as a kit with a step-by-step assembly guide designed to make robotics accessible to everyone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: nRF Connect for Mobile at 4.5 against Reachy Mini's 3.0. nRF Connect for Mobile also leads on ratings volume (478 vs 2). Reachy Mini's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). 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.
nRF Connect for Mobile holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: nRF Connect for Mobile has 478 ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of Reachy Mini'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, Reachy Mini fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Connect for Mobile | Reachy Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (478 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 478 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Pollen Robotics |
Customer experience
nRF Connect for Mobile
Reachy Mini
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
Reachy Mini
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
nRF Connect for Mobile
No in-app purchases
Reachy Mini
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Connect for Mobile free?
Is Reachy Mini free?
Which has better reviews, nRF Connect for Mobile or Reachy Mini?
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or Reachy Mini have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or Reachy Mini?
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