nRF Blinky vs Bluefruit Playground
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
nRF Blinky
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nRF Blinky is an application targeted towards developers who are new to Bluetooth Low Energy. nRF Blinky has the following features: - Scan and connect to any nRF5 DK containing the Nordic Semiconductor’s proprietary LED/Button Service. - Toggle the LED on the development kit On and Off from within the application. - Receive Button press and release events from the development kit and display it within the application. This application is open sourced and the is written in Swift 5 and available on GitHub: https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/IOS-CoreBluetooth-Mock
Bluefruit Playground
This app wirelessly connects to specific hardware to control LEDs, display sensor data like light and temperature, and play sounds. It allows users to interact with electronic devices for fun and learning without coding.
- Control LED color and animation
- View sensor data (light, temperature, accelerometer)
- Monitor button and switch states
- Play tones and music
- Animate 3D puppets
- View barometer and humidity data
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Bluefruit Playground connects wirelessly to Adafruit's Bluefruit hardware to remotely display sensor data, control hardware & more. Connect the Bluefruit Playground app to a CLUE or Circuit Playground Bluefruit device and you can: • Control LED color & animation • View continuous light sensor readings • View state of built-in buttons & switch • Play tones & music • View orientation based on accelerometer data • View & graph temperature readings • Animate a 3D puppet in real time • View Barometer & Humidity data from CLUE – all without soldering or writing a single line of code!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Bluefruit Playground at every 6 weeks against nRF Blinky's every 9 months. nRF Blinky's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
nRF Blinky ships an update every 9 months, Bluefruit Playground every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Blinky | Bluefruit Playground |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Adafruit Industries |
In-app purchases
nRF Blinky
No in-app purchases
Bluefruit Playground
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Blinky free?
Is Bluefruit Playground free?
Do nRF Blinky or Bluefruit Playground have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Blinky or Bluefruit Playground?
Other comparisons
