Comparison

a vs nRF Device Firmware Update

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

Head to head
About

a

Run Unix commands locally on your iOS device with a powerful terminal emulator. Supports file transfer, editing, scripting with Python and Lua, and network utilities. Integrates with Shortcuts and supports multiple windows for multitasking.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting (Python, Lua, JavaScript)
  • Network utilities (nslookup, ping)
  • Shortcuts integration
  • Multi-window support
Features
Read full description

a-Shell mini is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on you iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. Work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with iOS underlying BSD Unix. a-Shell mini includes Python, Lua, JavaScript and webAssembly for programming and scripting. It also includes native ffmpeg and convert for fast image and video conversion. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell mini can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-Shell mini uses iPadOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. a-Shell mini is a minimalist terminal, designed to have a very small footprint (less than 250 MB). If you need more commands, please consider a-Shell, which has more Python packages, more JavaScript modules, Perl, make, a C and C++ compiler and TeX.

About

nRF Device Firmware Update

This application enables Over-The-Air Device Firmware Upgrade (OTA-DFU) for nRF5 devices using Bluetooth LE. It supports updating firmware in .zip format, prepared with the 'nrf util' tool.

Highlights
  • Over-The-Air Device Firmware Upgrade (OTA-DFU)
  • Bluetooth LE connectivity
  • Supports nRF5x Series chips
  • Updates Secure or Legacy DFU bootloaders
  • Requires .zip firmware format
  • Uses 'nrf util' for firmware preparation
Features
Read full description

The nRF5x Series chips are flash-based SoCs, and as such they represent the most flexible solution available. A key feature of the nRF5x Series and their associated software architecture and S-Series SoftDevices is the possibility for Over-The-Air Device Firmware Upgrade (OTA-DFU) over Bluetooth LE. The DFU application allows to update nRF5 devices using Secure or Legacy DFU bootloader from nRF5 SDK version 4.3 or newer. The firmware should be in .zip file format, prepared using "nrf util" (https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/pc-nrfutil).

Screenshots

a4 screens
nRF Device Firmware Update3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: a at 78% against nRF Device Firmware Update's 20%. a also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months). nRF Device Firmware Update's advantage is monetization model (free vs paid). On price, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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

a holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: a has 120 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of a's written reviews are positive against 20% of nRF Device Firmware Update's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update every 2 weeks, nRF Device Firmware Update every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
a versus nRF Device Firmware Update: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteranRF Device Firmware Update
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (120 ratings) — better2.7 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews — better20.0% of reviews
Number of ratings120 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#53 — better#129
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size373 MB5 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchNordic Semiconductor ASA

Customer experience

a

All ratings120 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative16.7%

nRF Device Firmware Update

All ratings9 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral11.1%
Negative55.6%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

Bugs and requests

a

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Keyboard icons comically large
  • App deletes itself
  • Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display
  • Pasting text results in strange characters
  • App only uses half of the screen when editing files
Show 7 more
  • Command not found errors for all commands
  • App crashes on launch after update
  • Cannot get own absolute path
  • Cannot execute own programs
  • App messes up .txt file association
  • Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste
  • No module named requests in shortcuts

Requested features

8 requests
  • Option to use old keyboard buttons
  • Add openssl support
  • Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
  • Support telnet command
  • Add possibility to compile from source
Show 3 more
  • Make Ubuntu default
  • Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
  • Adjustable font size

nRF Device Firmware Update

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

nRF Device Firmware Update

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is nRF Device Firmware Update free?
nRF Device Firmware Update is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, a or nRF Device Firmware Update?
a is rated higher. a averages 4.6 out of 5 from 120 ratings, while nRF Device Firmware Update averages 2.7 from 9 ratings.
Do a or nRF Device Firmware Update have ads?
Neither a nor nRF Device Firmware Update shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or nRF Device Firmware Update?
a ships an update every 2 weeks, and nRF Device Firmware Update every 9 months. Most recently, a was updated on October 14, 2026 and nRF Device Firmware Update on October 17, 2026.
Which is more popular, a or nRF Device Firmware Update?
a currently peaks at #53 in the App Store charts, and nRF Device Firmware Update at #129. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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