Comparison

Dabble vs TRUEFREE

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dabble

Control and communicate with hardware like Arduino and ESP32 using your smartphone's sensors and Bluetooth. This app transforms your phone into a virtual controller, offering modules for LED control, terminal commands, gamepad functionality, and access to phone sensors.

Highlights
  • LED Brightness Control
  • Terminal for text and voice commands
  • Gamepad control (analog, digital, accelerometer)
  • Pin State Monitor
  • Phone Sensor access (GPS, mic, accelerometer, etc.)
  • Scratch & Arduino compatible projects
Features
Read full description

Dabble is a versatile project interaction & Bluetooth controller app for Arduino, ESP32 & evive that replaces a wide variety of electronic components and exploits the inbuilt features and sensors of your Smartphone like the GPS, mic & accelerometer thus transforming into a virtual treasury of infinite shields & more. It lets you control & communicate with hardware via Bluetooth. It also provides you with dedicated projects compatible with Scratch & Arduino to help you learn by doing. What Dabble has in store: Currently Available Modules: • LED Brightness Control: Control brightness of LEDs and digital/analog pins. • Terminal: Send and receive textual and voice commands over Bluetooth. • Gamepad: Control devices/robot in analog (Joystick), digital, and accelerometer mode. • Pin State Monitor: Remotely monitor the live status of devices and debug them. • Phone Sensor: Access different sensors of your Smartphone such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, magnetometer, light meter, sound meter, GPS, temperature sensor, and barometer to make projects and conduct experiments. Coming Soon: • Motor Control (Coming Soon): Control actuators such as the DC motor and servo motor. • Inputs (Coming Soon): Provide analog and digital inputs via buttons, knobs, and switches. • Camera (Coming Soon): Use the camera of your Smartphone for taking photos, record videos, colour picking, and face recognition (coming soon). • IoT (Coming Soon): Log data, publish it on cloud, and access data from API. • Oscilloscope (Coming Soon): Visualize and analyse the input and output signals given to the device using the oscilloscope module. • Music (Coming Soon): Receive commands from the device and play tones, songs, or other recorded audio files on your Smartphone. • Projects (Coming Soon): Make dedicated projects to experience different concepts of the real world first-hand like home automation, line-follower, and robotic arm. Boards Compatible with Dabble: • evive • Arduino Uno • Arduino Mega • Arduino Nano • ESP32 Bluetooth Modules Compatible with Dabble: • HM-10 BT 4.0 BLE (or AT-09) Want to know more about Dabble? Visit:  https://thestempedia.com/product/dabble/ Module Documentation: https://thestempedia.com/docs/dabble/ Getting Started with Dabble: https://thestempedia.com/docs/dabble/getting-started-with-dabble/ Projects that you can make: https://thestempedia.com/product/dabble-app/ Permissions required for: Bluetooth: to provide connectivity. Microphone: to send voice commands and use the sound meter. Location: to use Location sensor and BLE.

About

TRUEFREE

Enhance your workout with this companion app for specific Bluetooth earphones. Customize audio with an equalizer, perform hearing tests, monitor battery, and access unique features like white noise. Keep your earphones up-to-date with firmware updates.

Highlights
  • Firmware updates
  • Customizable equalizer
  • Hearing test
  • Battery level indicator
  • White noise generator
Features
Read full description

TRUEFREE is a companion app designed exclusively for TrueFree series Bluetooth earphones. It empowers your workout experience with customized settings and unique features: ~ Firmware updates ~ Customizable equalizer ~ Hearing test ~ Battery level indicator ~ White noise ~ More unique features Supported devices: TRUEFREE O1、TRUEFREE F2、YAMDROK Power1、TRUEFREE O2、 TRUEFREE Clip C10、 TRUEFREE B1、 TRUEFREE EarFit DS1、YAMDROK NC1、TRUEFREE HF-10、TRUEFREE HD-100、 TRUEFREE HD-200、 TRUEFREE F3

Screenshots

Dabble4 screens
TRUEFREE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dabble at 75% against TRUEFREE's 10%. Dabble also leads on rating (3.9 vs 1.3) and ratings volume (128 vs 16). TRUEFREE's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Dabble holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dabble has 128 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Dabble's written reviews are positive against 10% of TRUEFREE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dabble ships an update every 6 months, TRUEFREE every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Dabble versus TRUEFREE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDabbleTRUEFREE
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (128 ratings) — better1.3 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better10.3% of reviews
Number of ratings128 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSTEMpedia深圳市星科启创新科技有限公司

Customer experience

Dabble

All ratings128 ratings
Positive71.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative20.3%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral5.4%
Negative19.6%

TRUEFREE

All ratings16 ratings
Positive6.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative93.8%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive10.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative89.7%

User reviews

Dabble

From 128 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use for beginners
  • 🚀 Works well with ESP32 and Arduino
  • 💰 Free and fully functional
  • 💡 Great for robotics projects
  • 📱 Useful phone sensors

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Gamepad issues on iOS
  • 🐛 Not all functions available on iPhone
  • 🐛 GPS data transfer unreliable
  • 🐛 Phone sensor data flaky
  • 🐛 UI issues on older versions

TRUEFREE

From 16 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎵 Good sound quality and audio performance
  • ⚙️ Comprehensive equalizer and preset customization
  • 🔧 Useful hearing test feature
  • 👂 Comfortable earbuds design
  • 📱 App works well once successfully registered

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Registration process fundamentally broken
  • 🔐 Mandatory account creation requirement
  • 🌐 Password validation error messages unclear
  • 🎨 UI design issues (invisible buttons, poor contrast)
  • 🔄 Endless pairing loops with Bluetooth

Bugs and requests

Dabble

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Gamepad doesn't work on iOS
  • Joystick values are blank on iOS
  • Buttons do not show for gamepad
  • Controller function broken on iPhones without a home button
  • Gamepad won't turn, only shows left/right controls, format off
Show 10 more
  • Gamepad doesn't load properly, shows only two arrows
  • Game pad section is useless after iOS 16 update, doesn't show entire gamepad
  • Lag and robot continues to move
  • Joystick resets values when action button is pressed
  • GPS data transfer not reliable
  • Phone sensor data is flaky
  • UI completely messed up due to no updates
  • Auto connect problem (BLE services in reverse order)
  • Doesn't connect to Nintendo Switch Lite, no SYNC button
  • Gamepad doesn't display on iPhone 8, works on iPad

Requested features

7 requests
  • More buttons on gamepad or custom gamepad creation
  • Additional controller types (joystick, button rows)
  • Ability to map terminal commands to virtual actions/notifications
  • Offline automation and scripts for iOS
  • Xbox controller support
Show 2 more
  • Motor control on iPhone
  • Pro version with more options

TRUEFREE

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Registration password validation rejects valid 6-20 character passwords
  • Special characters not allowed in passwords without notification
  • Register button invisible in dark mode
  • Verification code email not sent
  • App crashes when clicking 'connect device' on iOS 18.6.2
Show 10 more
  • Device name validation prevents pairing with default names
  • Endless loop between app and Bluetooth settings during pairing
  • Network error messages appear randomly
  • App switches to Chinese after updates
  • Firmware update progress stuck at 0%
  • Scan function repeatedly prompts connection instead of connecting
  • VoiceOver incompatibility prevents terms acceptance
  • Relaxation music hall closes app on iOS
  • Touch control settings don't persist (disabled in app but still active)
  • Device detection fails for certain models (TrueFree 01, T2, T3)

Requested features

10 requests
  • Optional account creation (guest mode)
  • Better password requirement documentation
  • Improved UI with visible, labeled buttons
  • Better language localization and persistence
  • Arabic language support
Show 5 more
  • Accessibility improvements for screen readers
  • Volume override/increase maximum setting
  • Better device pairing interface
  • Comprehensive user manual (not just video)
  • Web-based registration alternative

In-app purchases

None

Dabble

No in-app purchases

None

TRUEFREE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dabble free?
Dabble is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TRUEFREE free?
TRUEFREE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dabble or TRUEFREE?
Dabble is rated higher. Dabble averages 3.9 out of 5 from 128 ratings, while TRUEFREE averages 1.3 from 16 ratings.
Do Dabble or TRUEFREE have ads?
Neither Dabble nor TRUEFREE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dabble or TRUEFREE?
Dabble ships an update every 6 months, and TRUEFREE every 6 weeks. Most recently, Dabble was updated on September 23, 2026 and TRUEFREE on July 26, 2026.

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