Comparison

nRF Connect for Mobile vs Phantom

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

Phantom

This app enables off-grid voice and text communication over mesh networks, functioning without cell towers, Wi-Fi, or internet. It utilizes Meshtastic-compatible LoRa hardware for direct peer-to-peer messaging.

Highlights
  • Off-grid voice and text messaging
  • Works without cell towers, Wi-Fi, or internet
  • Hold-to-talk voice reconstruction
  • Bluetooth connectivity to Meshtastic LoRa nodes
  • Interoperable with standard Meshtastic app
Features
Read full description

Phantom is an off-grid messaging app for mesh networks - voice and text that works when everything else fails. No cell towers, no wifi, no internet, no servers, no monthly fees. Hold to talk. Your voice gets reconstructed on the other end. No audio ever crosses the radio. Works with any Meshtastic-compatible LoRa node over Bluetooth. Interoperates with the standard Meshtastic app. Requires Meshtastic - compatible LoRa hardware. The future is mesh. Phantom brings voice to it.

Screenshots

nRF Connect for Mobile4 screens
Phantom4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: nRF Connect for Mobile at 71% against Phantom's 0%. nRF Connect for Mobile also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (466 vs 3). Phantom's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days 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

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

nRF Connect for Mobile holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: nRF Connect for Mobile has 466 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of nRF Connect for Mobile's written reviews are positive against 0% of Phantom's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update every 5 weeks, Phantom every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
nRF Connect for Mobile versus Phantom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameternRF Connect for MobilePhantom
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (466 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews70.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings466 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB778 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNordic Semiconductor ASAAntonio Lambert

Customer experience

nRF Connect for Mobile

All ratings466 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral6.7%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews239 reviews
Positive70.7%
Neutral8.4%
Negative20.9%

Phantom

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Phantom

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

nRF Connect for Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

Phantom

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 Phantom free?
Phantom is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, nRF Connect for Mobile or Phantom?
nRF Connect for Mobile is rated higher. nRF Connect for Mobile averages 4.5 out of 5 from 466 ratings, while Phantom averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do nRF Connect for Mobile or Phantom have ads?
Neither nRF Connect for Mobile nor Phantom shows ads.
Which is updated more often, nRF Connect for Mobile or Phantom?
nRF Connect for Mobile ships an update every 5 weeks, and Phantom every 4 days. Most recently, nRF Connect for Mobile was updated on October 15, 2026 and Phantom on October 7, 2026.

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