Comparison

V1 Companion vs 85Blends

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

85Blends

Features
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85Blends — Your E85 & Flex-Fuel Companion Whether you’re running a flex-fuel setup, mixing ethanol blends yourself, or just looking for your next E85 fill-up, 85Blends gives you the tools you need in one place. CALCULATE YOUR BLEND Quickly calculate how much E85 and gasoline to add to reach your target ethanol content. Enter your current fuel level, current ethanol percentage, target blend, and tank size — 85Blends handles the math. Use At The Pump for quick calculations while filling up, including partial fills and gas-only adjustments. FIND E85 NEARBY Discover nearby E85 stations using your location, browse station details, save favorites, get directions, and share stations with other drivers. Recent nearby stations can appear immediately when you reopen the app while fresh station data updates in the background. Community Pricing lets drivers submit and share current E85 prices to help keep station information useful for everyone. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR CAR Add your vehicle to Garage and keep important fuel and maintenance information organized. Track: • Fuel fill-ups and ethanol blends • Mileage and fuel history • Maintenance reminders • Vehicle fuel and tank information Cloud Sync helps keep supported app data available across your Apple devices and is included for both Free and Pro users. 85BLENDS PRO Upgrade to Pro for additional tools built for drivers who use E85 regularly: • Intelligent E85 Trip Planner • Interactive Stations map • Map or Classic Stations layouts • Unlimited Garage vehicles • Ad-free experience Trip Planner helps you plan longer drives around available E85 stations, estimate fuel stops, and open your preferred navigation app when you’re ready to drive. BUILT FOR E85 DRIVERS 85Blends is designed to make ethanol blending and E85 station discovery simpler without requiring an account. Whether you’re filling with straight E85, mixing an E30/E50/E70 blend, or keeping track of a flex-fuel vehicle, the tools you need are always close by. Location access is optional and used for nearby station features. Automatic Pump Detection is also optional and can be enabled separately. Support: support@85blends.app Privacy Policy: https://85blends.app/privacy.html 85Blends Pro is an optional auto-renewable subscription. Subscription features and availability may change as the app continues to improve.

Screenshots

V1 Companion4 screens
85Blends4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 85Blends at Free against V1 Companion's $9.99. 85Blends also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). V1 Companion's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#107 vs unranked). On 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

85Blends is free to download; V1 Companion costs $9.99 up front. V1 Companion sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. 85Blends asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

V1 Companion ships an update monthly, 85Blends fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
V1 Companion versus 85Blends: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterV1 Companion85Blends
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (480 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.0% of reviews
Number of ratings480 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree
Best chart rank#107 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAngela McarthurJulian Figueroa

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

85Blends

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

85Blends

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is V1 Companion free?
V1 Companion costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is 85Blends free?
85Blends is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do V1 Companion or 85Blends have ads?
85Blends shows ads; V1 Companion does not.
Which is updated more often, V1 Companion or 85Blends?
V1 Companion ships an update monthly, and 85Blends fortnightly. Most recently, V1 Companion was updated on September 23, 2026 and 85Blends on September 18, 2026.

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