Axon Respond vs VB SmartControl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Axon Respond
This app enhances law enforcement safety by providing commanders with real-time situational awareness. It allows supervisors to track officer locations and view live body camera feeds during urgent events, ensuring rapid response and improved officer well-being.
- Real-time urgent event notifications
- Officer location tracking
- Livestream body camera broadcasts
- Enhanced situational awareness
- Secure communication for law enforcement
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The Axon Respond mobile app provides a secure and powerful tool to help law enforcement commanders and supervisors keep their officers safe. It boosts situational awareness by notifying commanders in real-time when urgent events occur. With the Axon Respond mobile app commanders and supervisor can see the location of officers and view livestream broadcasts from an officer's body camera. All of this happens seamlessly and instantly with just a few clicks on their mobile device. The Respond app also runs on iPad OS version 16.0 or later in iPhone compatibility mode.
VB SmartControl
This app connects to Motorola body-worn cameras, allowing users to view live feeds, tag footage, and manage recordings directly from their smartphone. It includes a viewfinder to help with camera placement and requires specific firmware versions for optimal performance.
- Connects to VB400 and V500 body cameras
- View live camera feed (ViewFinder)
- Tag video footage
- Manage recordings on mobile device
- WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
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VB SmartControl is the companion smartphone app for the Motorola Solutions VB400 and V500 body-worn cameras. The app connects to the camera using WiFi and Bluetooth, enabling operators to view and tag video directly on their mobile devices. The ViewFinder feature allows you to see what your camera sees, to assist when mounting your camera. Note: VideoManager (VideoManager EX in North America) and device firmware must be: 16.1.0 or later for VB400 devices (VB400V3 hardware revision or later); 24.4.1 or later for V500 devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: VB SmartControl at 5.0 against Axon Respond's 3.9. VB SmartControl also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Axon Respond's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VB SmartControl holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Axon Respond has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Axon Respond ships an update every 6 weeks, VB SmartControl every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Axon Respond | VB SmartControl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 75 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Axon Enterprise, Inc. | Motorola Solutions, Inc |
Customer experience
Axon Respond
VB SmartControl
In-app purchases
Axon Respond
No in-app purchases
VB SmartControl
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Axon Respond free?
Is VB SmartControl free?
Which has better reviews, Axon Respond or VB SmartControl?
Do Axon Respond or VB SmartControl have ads?
Which is updated more often, Axon Respond or VB SmartControl?
Other comparisons
