Smart NFC vs UDevice
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smart NFC
This app allows users to read, write, and interact with NFC tags directly from their compatible iPhone. It supports various record types, tag formatting, and direct memory access for advanced customization. Background reading is also available on newer devices.
- Read, write, duplicate, erase, and lock NDEF tags
- Format tags as NDEF
- Interact with links and social media records
- Background tag reading
- Direct tag memory access
- Send custom commands to tags
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NFC is supported on iPhone 7 or newer only; iPad and iPod Touch do not have the hardware to interact with NFC tags. ----- Read, write, interact, and hack your NFC tags on your supporting iPhone! Smart NFC is one of the first apps to support native NFC writing directly from your device. With numerous custom records to get you started, you'll be writing to most NDEF-formatted NFC tags in no time. Don't have any NDEF-formatted tags? Format them in the Advanced section. Tag-specific features are being added that allow you to edit a tag's memory directly, which opens the doors to all kinds of new features! Tag not scanning? NDEF format new tags from the Advanced section to get them working right! An NFC tag is written with a single "Message" which contains any number of "Records." These records define text, links, and data to be stored on the tag. Most tags can be scanned by holding the top of your iPhone within a few centimeters. A chip is only limited only by its size. As long as the chip is NDEF-formatted (most are, and other formats will be supported in a later version) and it has enough space, the limits are endless! Features: - Read, write, duplicate, erase, and permanently lock NDEF-formatted tags - Monitor a tag's max capacity (usually somewhere between 256-1024 Bytes) - Read, write, and interact with links (https://, sms://, facetime://, mailto:, etc.) - Write a variety of pre-defined Social Media and website records - Read and write text records with multiple language localizations - Use Background Tag Reading to interact with NFC tags without an app. Write a link to a tag and then tap it to your phone. Voila! (Supported on iPhone XS and newer) - Review and rewrite previous messages from your History to another tag - Format factory-programmed tags as NDEF tags in-app (Supports most common tags such as Type 2 and Type 5 NFC tags) - Read and write directly to a tag's memory - Send custom commands directly to a tag - And of course, target your users better by using a tag's unique identifier Extras: - Dark Mode - Privacy: we collect nothing as you use the app. Supported Devices: - NFC scanning is available on iPhone 7 and newer. iPad and iPod Touch do not have the required hardware. - Background Tag Reading is available on iPhone XS and newer. iOS will present a notification for the first valid link stored on a tag. Supported Tags: - Any NDEF-formatted tags - MIFARE Ultralight - NTAG 213/215/216 - NXP ICODE® Tags, ISO 15693 Tags, and Type 5 Tags Future support for: - MIFARE DESFire Limitations: - MIFARE Classic tags are not currently supported by iOS Future features: - Include a tag's ID and/or its read count in a record - Password-protect an NFC chip - Connect to a Bluetooth device Feel free to Tweet feature requests to me at @0xA1EC
UDevice
This app offers a comprehensive suite of developer and testing tools. It includes network utilities like HTTP(s) capture and DNS parsing, alongside system information and file management capabilities. Ideal for development, testing, and device management.
- HTTP(s) Capture/Rewrite
- SSH and Terminal access
- Python3 interpreter
- Cookie editing
- Network utilities (Ping, DNS, Traceroute, Port Scan)
- File manager
- Device fingerprinting and system info
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Make device debugging, network diagnostics, and security research more efficient. The app includes a rich set of professional tools covering network packet capture, request rewriting, SSH, local terminal, Python 3, file management, cookie editing, log analysis, JSON formatting, regular expressions, Ping, DNS lookup, Traceroute, port scanning, LAN scanning, and more. You can also view real-time device status and key system information, including CPU, system, network, memory, display, browser environment, and other device data, helping you quickly understand the current state of your device. Whether for development debugging, testing and troubleshooting, security research, or daily device management, everything can be done in one app.
Screenshots
Verdict
Smart NFC and UDevice both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 78% of UDevice's written reviews are positive against 48% of Smart NFC's. Smart NFC's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On rating, 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
Smart NFC costs $1.99 and UDevice $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Smart NFC against 4.4 for UDevice. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 92 and 36 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 48% of Smart NFC's written reviews are positive against 78% of UDevice's.
Smart NFC ships an update fortnightly, UDevice every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Smart NFC | UDevice |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (92 ratings) — better | 4.4 (36 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.6% of reviews | 78.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 92 — better | 36 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #37 | #13 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 159 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alec O'Connor | Gansu Zhenxian Network Technology Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
Smart NFC
UDevice
In-app purchases
Smart NFC
No in-app purchases
UDevice
No in-app purchases









