BLE Serial Pro vs PhotoFolia
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BLE Serial Pro
Transform your iOS device into a wireless serial terminal for Bluetooth Low Energy devices. Send commands and receive data in real-time from various IoT hardware, making debugging and development seamless.
- Connect to any BLE serial device
- Send commands and receive data
- Programmable buttons for quick commands
- Live console strip for real-time feedback
- Customizable display options
- Smart alerts for specific data patterns
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A range of devices use Texas Instruments’ CC2540/CC2541 system-on-chip as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interface and are compatible with Android and iOS platforms. BLE boards as the AT-09, MLT-BT05, HM-10, JDY-08, JDY-10 et cetera use CC2540/41 chips and can be connected to the serial ports of Arduino's and Raspberry's. Features: • Fully customisable console view, with options like: - Display format (ASCII, Hex, Dec, etc.) - Line numbers and timestamps - Newline behaviour - Style (code or chat) and sound effects • Send data how it suits you: - In different formats (ASCII, Hex, Dec, etc.) - With or without newline/carriage return character at the end - All at once or in chunks (to accommodate for processing time) • Create buttons to send pre-determined messages - Customise the messages, titles, color and layout - Optionally send message repeatedly while button is pressed - Optionally append newline character to messages - These buttons can be exported, to be imported on other devices • Completely functional bluetooth explorer included! Find out the services, descriptors and other properties of any bluetooth device in range • "Send on Connect" option, to send a preset message after pairing • "Auto Reconnect" option, to reconnect automatically to the previous device • Easily copy or share the sent and received messages • Editable service/characteristic UUIDs to connect to • Read/Write characteristic UUIDs can be set separately • Easy to use minimalist layout
PhotoFolia
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Plant life depends upon photosynthesis, which starts with absorption of light energy by the green pigment chlorophyll. The chlorophyll concentration in a leaf can be inferred from its colour. PhotoFolia uses a colour standard and proprietary algorithms to provide a calibrated measurement of leaf spectral reflectance, from which chlorophyll and nitrogen concentration as well as SPAD value can be inferred. Photofolia allows users to select the particular plant species to give the best possible meausrment. Results are stored in the cloud, and can be viewed on a web browser at https://colourworker.com/apps/photofolia/showmeasurements
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PhotoFolia at Free against BLE Serial Pro's $3.99. PhotoFolia also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
PhotoFolia is free to download; BLE Serial Pro costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BLE Serial Pro ships an update every 5 months, PhotoFolia every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BLE Serial Pro | PhotoFolia |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ed Nieuwenhuys | Miguel Garvie |
In-app purchases
BLE Serial Pro
No in-app purchases
PhotoFolia
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BLE Serial Pro free?
Is PhotoFolia free?
Do BLE Serial Pro or PhotoFolia have ads?
Which is updated more often, BLE Serial Pro or PhotoFolia?
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