Comparison

Thingy vs XTGateway

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Thingy

Interact with a multi-sensor IoT device to capture and view environmental data, motion, and audio. Control the device's LED, speaker, and trigger events through a user-friendly interface without needing programming skills.

Highlights
  • View temperature, humidity, air quality, and pressure
  • Compass, step counter, and tap detection
  • Accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer data
  • Control RGB LED color, brightness, and mode
  • Stream audio to and from the device
  • Trigger programmable events
  • Update device firmware
Features
Read full description

The Thingy app is designed to work with the Nordic Thingy:52™ devices. Nordic Thingy:52 is a compact, power-optimized, multi-sensor device built around the nRF52832 Bluetooth® 5 SoC from Nordic Semiconductor. Capture, view, and interact with the sensor data acquired from your Thingy, with no programming skills required. Use this app to connect your iPhone or iPad with Thingy and gain access to the following functionalities: - View the current temperature, humidity, air quality, and atmospheric pressure. - Use it as a compass, step counter, or detect taps on any of its axis. - Check the orientation of your Thingy and get live accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer data at a high rate. - Measure the gravity vector. - Trigger programmable events by pressing the button on top of the device. - Control the color, brightness, and mode of the RGB LED. - Stream PCM audio to its speaker, or play predefined notification sounds when events occur. - Stream audio from Thingy to a mobile device using the built-in microphone. - Play programmable tunes in frequency mode. - Using the free Thingy app, update the firmware on your Thingy as soon as new firmware versions are released. For firmware and mobile developers: Thingy can be flashed with your custom firmware, just like any other development kit from Nordic Semiconductor. The Thingy firmware package contains comprehensive documentation, so you can easily customize it to your own needs. Additionally, We provide a CocoaPod in Swift 5 for iOS 9.0 and above, This library is built exclusively for Thingy to ensure that installation and integration in your project are as smooth as possible! Learn more about Thingy at http://www.nordicsemi.com/thingy

About

XTGateway

Read full description

A IoT gateway is a crucial device that connects Bluetooth devices to the Internet. It can convert data from Bluetooth devices into Internet protocols, enabling remote control and data analysis of devices. It is widely used in smart homes, healthcare, industrial automation, and other fields, providing users with more convenient and intelligent living and working experiences.

Screenshots

Thingy4 screens
XTGateway4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: XTGateway at every 3 weeks against Thingy's every 3 months. Thingy's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thingy ships an update every 3 months, XTGateway every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Thingy versus XTGateway: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThingyXTGateway
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNordic Semiconductor ASAShenzhen Lanke Xuntong Technology Co., Ltd.

In-app purchases

None

Thingy

No in-app purchases

None

XTGateway

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thingy free?
Thingy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is XTGateway free?
XTGateway is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Thingy or XTGateway have ads?
Neither Thingy nor XTGateway shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thingy or XTGateway?
Thingy ships an update every 3 months, and XTGateway every 3 weeks. Most recently, Thingy was updated on October 6, 2026 and XTGateway on October 1, 2026.

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