# nRF Connect for Mobile vs Phantom

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.

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 3.7. 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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | nRF Connect for Mobile | Phantom |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (466 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nrf-connect-for-mobile/id1054362403/reviews)** | [3.7 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-mesh-comms/id6792339073/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **466** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | **70.7% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 15 MB | 778 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nordic Semiconductor ASA](https://appshunter.io/developer/497679114) | [Antonio Lambert](https://appshunter.io/developer/1769139666) |

## 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


### Phantom

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-mesh-comms/id6792339073)

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