Comparison

V1 Companion vs U/AWARE

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

Head to head
About

V1 Companion

Enhance your radar detector experience with intelligent alerts and advanced muting. This app offers location-based false silencing, customizable notifications, and detailed on-screen information for improved situational awareness while driving.

Highlights
  • Location-based false silencing (SpotLocks™)
  • Modify V1 hardware settings
  • Dynamic Volume Control for V1 Gen2
  • Customizable voice announcements
  • High-resolution signal strength meters
  • Heads-up display (HUD)
Currently charting
Read full description

Full CarPlay Support! **FEATURING - GPS location based 'false muting' via one of the best app systems called SpotLocks™ V1 Companion™ is a feature rich app, designed to give you the most out of your V1 radar detector, while enhancing your driving experience along the way. Featuring intelligent alerts & advanced muting, it takes situational awareness to another level! V1 Companion™ is the COMPLETE solution to enjoying your V1. V1 Companion™'s alerting and muting systems are optimized for each V1 platform. Intelligent voice announcements and on-screen visuals will always keep you informed and aware of the situation around you. V1 Companion™ full feature list: • SpotLocks™ - Location based false silencing has never been this good or easy. Turn on the intelligent location based learning, and let V1 Companion™ do the rest. Or, you can manually 'lock' or 'unlock' locations with ease from the main alert screen. • View and modify your V1's internal hardware settings. You no longer have to exit the app, and run the V1 connection app, to modify your V1's internal settings. • The ONLY iOS app with "Dynamic Volume Control" for V1 Gen2, completely silences unwanted alerts (No more annoying initial audio blip accompanying false alerts). • Play detector tones through app. • 'GPS Warmup' keeps the detector quiet for a 'user set' number of seconds or until a GPS connection is established with your iPhone. Useful for parking garages etc. • V1 Firmware version check & notification of new firmware. • 'Proximity' meter. • High resolution meters for front & rear signal strengths of the priority alert (Not limited to the # of bars on the V1 display). • MyRadarIQ™ - Threat probability meter. • 'K & X falses in area' meter. • 'Custom Phrases' for threat's audio announcements. • Customizable heads up display (HUD). • HUD displays the priority alert's band, signal strength, frequency, & direction. • HUD of the secondary alerts' bands, signal strengths, frequencies, bogey counts & directions. • Mute rear K & X band signals. • Advanced BSM/CAS/Ka False Muting (Optimized for each V1 platform). • 'Ghost' muting quiets false alerts when you are traveling behind a false emitting vehicle. • "Passive Mute™"- Quiets the V1 below user set speeds & during weak K & X signals. • Total bogey count display (Above the V1’s limit of 9). • Vehicle speed (MPH or KMH) display. • Mute status with the ability to manually mute/unmute alerts. • Detailed & intelligent voice announcements of direction, band, frequency, strength, number of alerts, occurrences of mixed signals & more. • V1 mode display (All, logic, Adv. logic - Tap to Toggle). • Automatic muting of Ka, K, and X bands ('Time before mute' set for each band). • 'Reduce Speed' notification for user set speed. • ‘Visual Awareness™’ – Slowly flashes the V1 display when the "Passive Mute™" system is actively muting. • Priority ‘Visual Awareness™’ - Rapidly flashes the V1 display after a Ka signal has been muted. • ‘Urgency Alerts™’ - Unmutes growing threats & announces these alerts via voice & notifications. • ‘Alert History’ - View your past alerts with detailed information about each encounter. • ‘Dark Mode’ support for use with V1 concealed display and/or iPhone as main display. • Compass heading. • ‘J-Out’ alert for Ka false alerts. • Detailed trip summary at the end of your ride including duration, distance, alerts, muting stats, battery, & more. • Automatic connection to Bluetooth enabled V1's (V1 with Bluetooth LE Dongle & V1G2 supported). • iPhone & Apple Watch notifications of direction, band, & frequency of each alert. • Tips/Help system. This app requires a Valentine One V1G2 or V1 Radar Detector that is compatible with Valentine Research's Bluetooth LE Dongle. You should have Valentine Research's V1Connection App (freely available in the App store) operational beforehand, to ensure compatibility with the V1 Companion App. Some portions of this program are Copyright (c) 2020 Valentine Research, Inc.

About

U/AWARE

Control and monitor your Uniden SDS150 scanner remotely via Bluetooth. View transmissions visually, hear audio, and record incoming signals directly on your device.

Highlights
  • Remote operation via Bluetooth
  • Visual display of transmissions
  • Audio playback of scanned signals
  • Record incoming transmissions
  • Full control replication of SDS150
Read full description

Provides remote operation functionality via Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), a visual display and audio of scanned radio transmissions. The display and all controls of the SDS150 are replicated on the app allowing you to access and control all the functions within the range. All incoming audio from the transmissions can be recorded and heard through your devices.

Screenshots

V1 Companion4 screens
U/AWARE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: U/AWARE at Free against V1 Companion's $9.99. U/AWARE also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). V1 Companion's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (499 vs 13). On ads, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

U/AWARE is free to download; V1 Companion costs $9.99 up front. V1 Companion sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. U/AWARE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

V1 Companion holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: V1 Companion has 499 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of V1 Companion's written reviews are positive against 63% of U/AWARE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

V1 Companion ships an update monthly, U/AWARE every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
V1 Companion versus U/AWARE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterV1 CompanionU/AWARE
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (499 ratings) — better3.5 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews79.7% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings499 — better13
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#49 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB33 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAngela McarthurUniden Corporation

Customer experience

V1 Companion

All ratings497 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive79.7%
Neutral4.7%
Negative15.6%

U/AWARE

All ratings12 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

V1 Companion

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Bluetooth disconnection and reconnection loops
  • Poor Bluetooth signal strength detection despite close proximity
  • Random disconnections during drives
  • Multiple false connection/disconnection announcements
  • App fails to connect with V1 Gen 1 and Bluetooth dongle
Show 5 more
  • Interface elements not fitting on screen properly
  • V1 Gen2 front lights up despite stealth mode enabled
  • Vehicle speed reading 3-5 mph faster than actual odometer
  • Unreadable photo radar options on iPhone Pro Max
  • Unavoidable overwhelming prompts on startup

Requested features

12 requests
  • Apple CarPlay compatibility
  • Landscape mode support
  • Speed-based volume adjustment
  • KA band user locks
  • Crowdsourced alerts database
Show 7 more
  • Red light and speed camera database
  • Log file export functionality
  • Trip meter display instead of compass
  • Option to disable connection/disconnection announcements
  • Simplified frequency display (e.g., 34.7 instead of 34.700)
  • Ability to disable car audio lowering on alerts
  • Vehicle speed calibration adjustment

U/AWARE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

V1 Companion

One-time4
  • Snacks - Contribution$1.99
  • Drinks - Contribution$3.99
  • Lunch - Contribution$6.99
Show 1 more
  • Super Fan - Contribution$9.99
None

U/AWARE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is V1 Companion free?
V1 Companion costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is U/AWARE free?
U/AWARE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, V1 Companion or U/AWARE?
V1 Companion is rated higher. V1 Companion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 499 ratings, while U/AWARE averages 3.5 from 13 ratings.
Do V1 Companion or U/AWARE have ads?
Neither V1 Companion nor U/AWARE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, V1 Companion or U/AWARE?
V1 Companion ships an update monthly, and U/AWARE every 2 months. Most recently, V1 Companion was updated on October 24, 2026 and U/AWARE on October 23, 2026.

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