nRF Connect for Mobile vs Periphery
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
Periphery
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Professional Bluetooth LE scanner and debugger for iOS. Periphery gives developers, engineers, and power users a complete toolkit for inspecting Bluetooth Low Energy devices. Scan nearby devices, read GATT services and characteristics, write values, and subscribe to notifications — all in one elegant app. FEATURES - Scan and discover nearby BLE devices in real time - Full GATT inspector: browse services, characteristics, and descriptors - Read, write, and subscribe to BLE characteristics - Automatic UUID identification for known devices - Device fingerprinting: identify chips from Nordic, ESP32, Xiaomi, Shelly - Offline UUID database — no internet required - Dark interface optimized for hardware labs - Find lost Bluetooth devices, tags, and trackers by signal strength (RSSI) with a live proximity meter, a signal graph and an optional beep that speeds up as you get closer - Give devices your own names: they keep them next time and are listed first - Filter the list by minimum signal or hide devices that advertise no name PRO FEATURES Unlock with Periphery Pro: - Unlimited scanning, with no session limit - Session logging: every read, write and notification saved - Unlimited saved sessions, exportable as plain text - No ads, ever FREE VERSION Free to download. The first 3 scan sessions are free, with ads. Unlimited scanning, session logs and no ads need Periphery Pro (subscription or lifetime purchase). BUILT FOR - iOS and embedded developers - IoT engineers and hobbyists - Hardware prototypers - QA engineers testing BLE products - Anyone debugging Bluetooth connectivity - Anyone hunting a lost Bluetooth tag, tracker, or pair of earbuds COMMON QUESTIONS Does it work without an account or internet? Yes to both. Everything happens over Bluetooth on the device. What can it actually see? Any Bluetooth Low Energy device advertising nearby: name, address, RSSI, advertisement data, then the full GATT tree — services, characteristics, descriptors — with read, write and notify. Can it find my lost earbuds or a tracker? It can tell you whether they are advertising and how strong the signal is, which gets you warmer or colder as you walk. It cannot show a map or a direction: BLE gives signal strength, not bearing. Does it work with classic Bluetooth devices? No. iOS only exposes Bluetooth Low Energy to apps. Car kits and older audio devices that use classic Bluetooth are invisible to any app on the App Store. Why does the address change every few minutes? That is iOS, not the app. Apple rotates the identifier it shows you for privacy, so the same device can appear under different addresses. Does it work on iPad? Yes. Terms of Use: https://masaapps360.com/periphery/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://masaapps360.com/periphery/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: nRF Connect for Mobile at none against Periphery's 4. nRF Connect for Mobile also leads on ads (none vs shown). Periphery's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Periphery sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. nRF Connect for Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.
nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update every 5 weeks, Periphery weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Connect for Mobile | Periphery |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (475 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 475 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Grima Hdez |
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
Periphery
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
nRF Connect for Mobile
No in-app purchases
Periphery
- Periphery Pro Weekly$0.997 Days
- Periphery Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
- Periphery Pro Yearly$2.991 Year
- Periphery Pro Lifetime$3.99
Questions
Is nRF Connect for Mobile free?
Is Periphery free?
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or Periphery have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or Periphery?
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