Dabble vs Arduino BT Controller
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Arduino BT Controller
Control Arduino-based RC cars using Bluetooth 4.0. Customize button actions for real-time driving control. No login is needed for immediate use.
- Drive forward, backward, left, and right
- Customizable button actions
- Real-time Bluetooth communication
- No login required
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This is the official Domekit app for controlling Arduino-based RC cars via Bluetooth 4.0. • Drive forward, backward, left, and right • Customizable button actions • Real-time Bluetooth communication • No login required Perfect for students, hobbyists, and educators using Domekit's Arduino kits.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dabble at 3.9 against Arduino BT Controller's 2.0. Dabble also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Arduino BT Controller's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 months). On price 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. Arduino BT Controller sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dabble asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dabble holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dabble has 128 ratings behind it against 1, 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 50% of Arduino BT Controller's.
Dabble ships an update every 6 months, Arduino BT Controller every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dabble | Arduino BT Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (128 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 128 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 18.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | STEMpedia | Boyle Sim |
Customer experience
Dabble
Arduino BT Controller
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
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- 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
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- Motor control on iPhone
- Pro version with more options
Arduino BT Controller
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dabble
No in-app purchases
Arduino BT Controller
- Remove Ads$0.99
Questions
Is Dabble free?
Is Arduino BT Controller free?
Which has better reviews, Dabble or Arduino BT Controller?
Do Dabble or Arduino BT Controller have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dabble or Arduino BT Controller?
Other comparisons
