Comparison

nRF Connect for Mobile vs GitBoba

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

GitBoba

A native iOS and iPadOS client for Gitea, a self-hosted Git service. Manage your daily work directly from your mobile device without needing to access a desktop.

Highlights
  • Native iOS and iPadOS client
  • Connects to Gitea servers
  • Personal access token authentication
  • Manage day-to-day work
  • Mobile Git management
Features
Read full description

GitBoba is a fast, native iOS and iPadOS client for Gitea + Forgejo. Connect to your own self-hosted instance and get a full git workflow, no browser required. • Repos - Browse code, branches, and commits • Pull Requests - Full diffs, reviews, merges • Issues - See what's open across every repo. • Actions - Trigger a workflow, watch it run, check on your runners. • Releases & Packages - Cut and publish a package • Dashboard & Notifications: Everything that needs you in one place • And much more! Self-hosted software shouldn't come with a locked-down client. GitBoba won’t lock open-source behind a paywall. We strive to bring new functionality and provide feature parody with existing backend.

Screenshots

nRF Connect for Mobile4 screens
GitBoba4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: GitBoba at 5.0 against nRF Connect for Mobile's 4.5. GitBoba also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly). nRF Connect for Mobile's advantage is ratings volume (455 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GitBoba 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 455 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update monthly, GitBoba weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
nRF Connect for Mobile versus GitBoba: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameternRF Connect for MobileGitBoba
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (455 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings455 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNordic Semiconductor ASAMiguel Perez

Customer experience

nRF Connect for Mobile

All ratings455 ratings
Positive85.3%
Neutral6.4%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews225 reviews
Positive70.7%
Neutral8.4%
Negative20.9%

GitBoba

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

GitBoba

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

nRF Connect for Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

GitBoba

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 GitBoba free?
GitBoba is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, nRF Connect for Mobile or GitBoba?
GitBoba is rated higher. nRF Connect for Mobile averages 4.5 out of 5 from 455 ratings, while GitBoba averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or GitBoba have ads?
Neither nRF Connect for Mobile nor GitBoba shows ads.
Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or GitBoba?
nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update monthly, and GitBoba weekly. Most recently, nRF Connect for Mobile was updated on September 25, 2026 and GitBoba on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons