Comparison

ESP32 BLE Terminal vs Shell Keyboard

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

Head to head
About

ESP32 BLE Terminal

This app facilitates serial communication with microcontrollers using BLE modules like ESP32. It allows sending and receiving commands, debugging hardware, and customizing button controls for frequent data transmission. Monitor data in ASCII or HEX formats and automate command sending at timed intervals.

Highlights
  • Scan nearby BLE devices
  • Send and receive commands via BLE
  • Customizable buttons for frequent commands
  • Monitor data in ASCII or HEX
  • Auto-send commands at timed intervals
  • Option to remove ads
Features
Read full description

INTRODUCTION: - One-of-a-kind App that is used for scanning nearby BLE devices and also use for serial communication. - Control any Micro-controller that uses any BLE Module like ESP32 through your smart phone. -- This app can send and receive commands via BLE so you can debug your ESP32 based hardware problems easily. FEATURES: - Separate panels for sending and receiving data. - Custom your own buttons for frequent sending of same data. - Monitoring receiving data as ASCII or HEX. - Sending Data as ASCII or HEX. - Auto send commands at timed interval - Selection for \r \n at the end of sending data. - Send Log file of Received and Sent data. - Simple copy option in sent data just long press on data. - Keep Screen on/off option. - Remove Ads option. NOTE: - By default, Received data in ASCII format and It can be changed from top MENU. - By default, Data sent in ASCII format and It can be changed from long pressing of particular Button. - By default, \r\n will be sent on every sending data and It can be changeable from long pressing of particular Button.

About

Shell Keyboard

Features
Read full description

Shell Keyboard adds the keys a terminal actually needs — the ones iOS's default keyboard leaves out. Working over SSH or in a local shell needs Ctrl, Esc, Tab, arrow keys, and function keys, none of which exist on the standard iOS keyboard. Shell Keyboard is a custom keyboard built specifically for terminal apps like Blink, Termius, Prompt, a-Shell and iSH — it sends the exact ASCII control codes and ANSI/VT escape sequences your terminal expects, the same bytes a physical keyboard would send. NEW ON IPAD: A REAL KEYBOARD Choose a 60% or 75% layout, the compact keyboards terminal users already type on. The 75% layout puts Esc, F1–F12, a number row, Caps Lock, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down and inverted-T arrow keys on one screen, and Shift types the symbol printed on each key, just like a physical keyboard. The 60% layout keeps the function keys, navigation and arrows one fn press away. iPad opens in the 75% layout; the original ShellKey layout is one tap away in Settings. WHAT'S INCLUDED • A dedicated terminal layer: Ctrl, Alt, Esc, Tab, arrow keys, Home/End/PgUp/PgDn, and the punctuation a shell prompt uses constantly • Ctrl and Alt as proper modifiers — latch one for a single keypress, or double-tap to lock it on, like a hardware keyboard • A full function-key layer: tap fn and the top row becomes F1 through F12, while every other row stays exactly where it was • Arrow keys that match the app you're in — Normal for shells, Application for vim, tmux, less and htop, or Move the Cursor for ordinary text fields • Return or Enter: long-press the Return key to switch between a carriage return and a line feed • A plain QWERTY layer and a complete symbols layer, for ordinary text — hostnames, paths, commit messages — without leaving the keyboard • Seven themes — Shell, Ember, Glacier, Dusk, Moss, Void (pure black) and High Contrast — each in light and dark, and an Appearance option to keep the keyboard light or dark everywhere • On iPad, 60% and 75% layouts (75% by default), described above • A searchable reference inside the app, listing every key alongside the exact escape sequence and hex bytes it sends • Every key emits the exact byte sequence a real terminal expects SETTINGS LIVE IN THE KEYBOARD Touch and hold the key with the small gear (or tap the gear key on the iPad's 60% and 75% layouts) for Haptic feedback, Theme, Appearance and, on iPad, Layout. They live in the keyboard itself because, without Full Access, iOS keeps a keyboard and its app apart, and Shell Keyboard never asks for Full Access. BUILT FOR PRIVACY Shell Keyboard never asks for Full Access. It cannot reach the network. It never reads, stores, or transmits anything you type — every key it sends is decided from the key you tapped, and nothing else. No analytics, no crash reporting, no account. GOOD TO KNOW In a terminal or editor running inside a web browser — code-server, Jupyter and the like — the keys that send a multi-character escape sequence don't get through: the arrow keys, F1 through F12, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Shift+Tab and Alt combinations. Everything that sends a single byte works there normally, including every Ctrl combination, Esc, Tab, Return and ordinary typing. Web pages listen for key press events and iOS only lets a keyboard extension insert text, so this is an iOS limitation that applies to every third-party keyboard, not something an app can work around. WHO IT'S FOR Anyone who SSHes from an iPhone or iPad — sysadmins, developers, and anyone tired of missing Ctrl+C.

Screenshots

ESP32 BLE Terminal4 screens
Shell Keyboard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shell Keyboard at none against ESP32 BLE Terminal's 1. Shell Keyboard also leads on ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#5 vs #81). ESP32 BLE Terminal's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and device support (4 vs 2). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ESP32 BLE Terminal costs $0.99 and Shell Keyboard $0.99 up front. ESP32 BLE Terminal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shell Keyboard asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESP32 BLE Terminal ships an update every 4 days, Shell Keyboard fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ESP32 BLE Terminal versus Shell Keyboard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESP32 BLE TerminalShell Keyboard
Price$0.99$0.99
Rating2.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#81#5 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGopi GadhiyaNguyen Nguyen

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ESP32 BLE Terminal

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99
None

Shell Keyboard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ESP32 BLE Terminal free?
ESP32 BLE Terminal costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Shell Keyboard free?
Shell Keyboard costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ESP32 BLE Terminal or Shell Keyboard have ads?
ESP32 BLE Terminal shows ads; Shell Keyboard does not.
Which is updated more often, ESP32 BLE Terminal or Shell Keyboard?
ESP32 BLE Terminal ships an update every 4 days, and Shell Keyboard fortnightly. Most recently, ESP32 BLE Terminal was updated on October 8, 2026 and Shell Keyboard on October 17, 2026.
Which is more popular, ESP32 BLE Terminal or Shell Keyboard?
ESP32 BLE Terminal currently peaks at #81 in the App Store charts, and Shell Keyboard at #5. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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