Core Beacons vs Bluetooth Developer
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.
Bluetooth Developer
Explore and understand Bluetooth devices around you. Discover nearby devices, view their manufacturer data and signal strength, and connect to read out information. Identify device types and potential manufacturers before connecting.
- Find nearby Bluetooth devices
- View manufacturer data and signal strength
- Connect and read device data
- Identify device types
- Read advertisement data
- Analyze services and characteristics
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The Bluetooth Developer App is made to help you developing with Bluetooth devices and understanding how they work. You can: - Find & see nearby devices - View manufacturer data and signal strength - Connect and read out data - See before connecting if a device is possible an apple device - See what kind of device (TV, Headphones, Heartbeat-Sensor, Monitor) a device is before connecting - Read out advertisement data - See information about services and characteristics - Read out characteristic values and parse them Requires permission to use Bluetooth features of your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Core Beacons at 4.7 against Bluetooth Developer's 4.0. Core Beacons also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
Core Beacons holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Core Beacons's written reviews are positive against 71% of Bluetooth Developer's.
Core Beacons ships an update every 2 months, Bluetooth Developer every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Core Beacons | Bluetooth Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better | 4.0 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 71.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 9.3 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | fluthaus | Matthias Zarzecki |
Customer experience
Core Beacons
Bluetooth Developer
In-app purchases
Core Beacons
No in-app purchases
Bluetooth Developer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Core Beacons free?
Is Bluetooth Developer free?
Which has better reviews, Core Beacons or Bluetooth Developer?
Do Core Beacons or Bluetooth Developer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Core Beacons or Bluetooth Developer?
Other comparisons
