Core Beacons vs Secure Terminal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Core Beacons
This tool allows developers to scan and analyze Bluetooth LE device advertisements on iOS. It displays general CoreBluetooth information and detailed parsing for various beacon formats, including sensor data. Explore your Bluetooth environment and understand how your device presents it to applications.
- Scan Bluetooth LE advertisements
- Display CoreBluetooth information
- Parse Ruuvi sensor tags
- Parse Eddystone UID, URL, and TLM frames
- Parse Mijia temperature/humidity beacons
- Parse AltBeacon formats
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Core Beacons is a development tool for iOS. Core Beacons lists the advertisements of Bluetooth LE devices in range, as made available to applications by the CoreBluetooth API. Core Beacons lets you explore your "Bluetooth environment" and shows how your iOS device presents this environment to applications. Core Beacons displays general CoreBluetooth information and, if advertised by a device, service and/or manufacturer-specific data. Detailed parsing support is available for • ruuvi sensor tags: • Format 3 (raw data v1) • Format 4 (sensor data encoded in Eddystone URL) • Format 5 (raw data v2) • Eddystone: UID, URL (incl. Physical Web) & TLM frame types • mijia temperature & relative humidity sensor beacons (as far as this protocol is documented) • AltBeacon Core Beacons may be most useful when working with "beacon" type BLE devices.
Secure Terminal
This application provides secure remote access to servers via SSH and Telnet. It supports various authentication methods, terminal emulations, and file transfer protocols. Advanced features like SFTP and port forwarding are available through an in-app purchase.
- SSH & Telnet connection
- Password & key authentication
- SFTP file transfer
- xterm-256color emulation
- Key generation
- Port forwarding
- Customizable terminal
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SSH Terminal to access multiple SSH server, with full support of "xterm-256color" emulation. Base Features: • SSH connection with password or key authentication: DSA, RSA, ECDSA, Ed25519 (OpenSSH format & Putty PPK) • SSH Agent • Key generation (RSA, ECDSA, Ed25519) • Support for FIDO key (iPhone NFC only) • Secure Enclave Key • Support for Sixel, iTerm2 image, ZModem and Trzsz protocols • Connection params are safely stored on Keychain • Connection history & localization • Connection through SSH proxy • Connection with Telnet protocol • External keyboard support • Terminal colors customization • Multiple font size • Image background • User font choice (fixed width only) • Pointer/Mouse support PRO Features (require in-app purchase): • Upload/Download files through SFTP • Port forwarding • Local text editor • Store unlimited connections • Files plugin support • Shortcuts support • Commands snippet • Hosts Status Dashboard • SFTP Commander • XWindow (iPad only)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Core Beacons at none against Secure Terminal's 1. Core Beacons also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). Secure Terminal's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (62 vs 3). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Secure Terminal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Core Beacons asks for nothing beyond the download.
Core Beacons holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Secure Terminal has 62 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Core Beacons's written reviews are positive against 86% of Secure Terminal's.
Core Beacons ships an update every 2 months, Secure Terminal every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Core Beacons | Secure Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better | 4.5 (62 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 85.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 62 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.3 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 195 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | fluthaus | Filippo Maguolo |
Customer experience
Core Beacons
Secure Terminal
Bugs and requests
Core Beacons
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Secure Terminal
Reported bugs
14 issues- SFTP cannot be opened when using a proxy server to connect to SSH
- Backspace clears the entire line, hiding the current working directory
- App crashes during docker compose pull with ZSH and ohmyzsh
- FaceID authenticates only once per app execution
- File transfer adds single quotes to the beginning and end of filenames
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- Password input is case-insensitive, causing login failures
- Background mode loses connections within ~30 seconds
- Slide-up toolbar covers the bottom line of text when using an external keyboard
- Pro features not working after app was offloaded/reloaded
- App crashes frequently
- Cannot log in to remote servers without a password
- External keyboard shortcuts sometimes stop working
- Background color change not working
- Cannot insert copied password into Linux terminal
Requested features
19 requests- Allow adding more than one connection in free version
- Improve UI/UX for better intuitiveness
- Provide clear documentation for Port Forwarding
- Add ability to format/prettify command snippets in clipboard/saved commands
- Keep theme full dark and add plain simple b&w icon
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- Make password input case-sensitive
- Fix FaceID authentication to be more robust
- Allow login to servers without passwords
- Add option to place connection shortcuts on the main screen
- Support background mode for persistent connections
- Improve handling of symbolic links
- Add Agent SSH functionality
- Allow storage of multiple named keys
- Make app protected by FaceID/TouchID on launch
- Access iOS password manager for SSH keys
- Remove bottom keyboard bar
- Improve handling of external keyboard shortcuts
- Add a way to cancel connections more clearly
- Make the main screen less blank and improve 'connect' button placement for single-handed use
In-app purchases
Core Beacons
No in-app purchases
Secure Terminal
- PRO FEATURE$4.99
Questions
Is Core Beacons free?
Is Secure Terminal free?
Which has better reviews, Core Beacons or Secure Terminal?
Do Core Beacons or Secure Terminal have ads?
Which is updated more often, Core Beacons or Secure Terminal?
Other comparisons
