Comparison

Thingy vs xBeaconPlus

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

xBeaconPlus

Configure and manage iBeacon and Eddystone devices. Adjust hardware parameters, broadcast intervals, and transmission power. Offers advanced security features like connection verification and data encryption.

Highlights
  • Modify iBeacon and Eddystone parameters
  • Adjust hardware parameters
  • Configure broadcast intervals
  • Set transmission power
  • Enable anti-tampering technologies
  • Beacon ranging
  • Firmware upgrades
Features
Read full description

xBeaconPlus is a multifunctional beacon configuration application designed to enhance user experience. It not only supports modifying basic iBeacon and Eddystone parameters but also allows users to adjust key hardware parameters such as broadcast intervals, transmission power, sensor status, and hardware information. Additionally, to enhance security, xBeaconPlus offers advanced anti-tampering technologies such as connection verification and data encryption communication. The application also supports beacon ranging and firmware upgrades to ensure optimal device performance. We are committed to continually expanding the range of functions to meet more professional needs. Please contact us for more information on additional functions and products. We also recommend you visit our "xBeaconBatch" application, which provides a series of advanced engineering tools to further improve work efficiency and effectiveness.

Screenshots

Thingy4 screens
xBeaconPlus3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Thingy at 5.0 against xBeaconPlus's 3.0. Thingy also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). xBeaconPlus's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

Thingy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thingy ships an update every 3 months, xBeaconPlus fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Thingy versus xBeaconPlus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThingyxBeaconPlus
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNordic Semiconductor ASAShenzhen Lanke Xuntong Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Thingy

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

xBeaconPlus

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Thingy

No in-app purchases

None

xBeaconPlus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thingy free?
Thingy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is xBeaconPlus free?
xBeaconPlus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Thingy or xBeaconPlus?
Thingy is rated higher. Thingy averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while xBeaconPlus averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Thingy or xBeaconPlus have ads?
Neither Thingy nor xBeaconPlus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thingy or xBeaconPlus?
Thingy ships an update every 3 months, and xBeaconPlus fortnightly. Most recently, Thingy was updated on October 6, 2026 and xBeaconPlus on October 16, 2026.

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