Comparison

microbitBLE vs KIGAKU

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

Head to head
About

microbitBLE

Connect your smartphone to a micro:bit device via Bluetooth. Send text from your keyboard to display on the micro:bit's LED, and receive messages sent from the micro:bit. Ideal for interactive coding projects and learning.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth UART connection
  • Send text to micro:bit LED
  • Receive messages from micro:bit
  • Button press triggers messages
  • Interactive coding projects
Features
Read full description

It is an application that allows you to connect the micro:bit Bluetooth UART. When you hit the keyboard of your smartphone, characters will be displayed on the LED of the micro:bit. Displays the characters sent from the micro:bit. In the sample, when the A button is pressed, Hello is sent and displayed on the smartphone. Usage 1. program the micro:bit 2. The micro:bit start and wait for Bluetooth connection (in the sample, a square mark is displayed) 3. Press the "connect to micro:bit" button in the app 4. When the connection is complete, the square display in the middle (transmission character display) will turn black and a check mark will appear on the micro:bit. 5. Hit the keyboard and the character will be displayed on the micro:bit 6. When you press the A button on the micro:bit, "Hello" is displayed in the "received message" part of the app 7. Press the "disconnect from micro:bit" button to disconnect Bluetooth and display a cross mark on the micro:bit

About

KIGAKU

Features
Read full description

KIGAKU is a visual education app on machine elements and mechanisms. Volume 15 of the "RAKU" series. The "RAKU" series has covered math (SUUGAKU), physics, electricity, waves, heat, stars, light, quantum, fluid, probability, geometry, chemistry, microbes, and brain. Each title makes one discipline tangible by letting you see and move the ideas. KIGAKU does the same for the machines humans have built - from a pair of meshing gears to a 2-link robot arm. While the sister app BUTURAKU covers natural physical phenomena, KIGAKU focuses on engineered mechanisms. [Ten Simulations] - Gear Two meshing spur gears that show how tooth counts change the trade-off between speed and force. Vary Z1, Z2, and the input RPM and watch the speed ratio and torque ratio respond inversely - the bigger gear turns slower, with proportionally more torque. - Pulley A block-and-tackle that lets you lift a load with less force - in exchange for pulling a longer distance. Vary the supporting rope count N (1-6) and see how the required force W/N shrinks while the rope you must pull grows by the same factor, with total work conserved. - Lever Drag the fulcrum and see how a beam trades force for distance. Switch between 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-class levers, with the moment balance F1*L1 = F2*L2 holding at every position. - Linkage A four-bar linkage that turns rotation into complex motion. Change the bar lengths and watch how the path changes in real time. The mechanism type - crank-rocker, double-crank, or double-rocker - switches automatically based on Grashof's condition, with the coupler-point curve traced live. - Cam A rotating cam that drives a follower smoothly up and down. Watch how the cam's outline shapes the motion above it - a cycloidal profile gives a particularly smooth ride, with the relation between cam shape and follower motion shown side by side. - Crank The mechanism that turns rotation into back-and-forth piston motion - the heart of every internal combustion engine. Vary the crank radius r and connecting-rod length l and see how the ratio r/l deforms the piston motion away from a pure sine wave (its second-harmonic component). - Screw A power screw / screw jack that converts a small torque into a large thrust - the same principle as car jacks and clamps. Tune the lead L, input torque T, and efficiency η (eta) and read the resulting force F = 2π·T·η/L; a smaller lead means more force, at the cost of speed. - Hydraulic Pascal's principle - a small input force becomes a large output force when fluid pressure is shared across cylinders of different sizes. Vary the input and output piston diameters; the area ratio A2/A1 becomes the force multiplication, with the output stroke shrinking by the same factor - the foundation of construction machines and brakes. - Belt Drive Two pulleys connected by a belt - the speed ratio is simply the diameter ratio D1/D2. The same principle behind bicycle gears and machine spindles. - Robot Arm A 2-link planar robot arm where joint angles decide where the tip goes. Move the shoulder and elbow joints (θ1, θ2) and watch the tip position (x, y) update in real time - the basics of forward kinematics, with the reachable workspace drawn. [Features] - Each screen pairs the simulation with formulas and historical context - Textbook-level implementations of gear ratios, lever moments, Pascal's principle, forward kinematics, and more - Japanese / English UI - Dark / Light mode - Clean, intuitive Material Design 3 UI - Banner ad at the bottom only - no interstitials, no rewarded ads [Who it's for] - Students of mechanical engineering, robotics, and mechatronics - Self-taught engineers refreshing their intuition - Science teachers building visual demonstrations

Screenshots

microbitBLE3 screens
KIGAKU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: microbitBLE at none against KIGAKU's shown. KIGAKU's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.5). On price, in-app purchases and 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

microbitBLE ships an update every 2 months, KIGAKU fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
microbitBLE versus KIGAKU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermicrobitBLEKIGAKU
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAtsushi YamadaFuji Bit Inc.

In-app purchases

None

microbitBLE

No in-app purchases

None

KIGAKU

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is microbitBLE free?
microbitBLE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is KIGAKU free?
KIGAKU is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do microbitBLE or KIGAKU have ads?
KIGAKU shows ads; microbitBLE does not.
Which is updated more often, microbitBLE or KIGAKU?
microbitBLE ships an update every 2 months, and KIGAKU fortnightly. Most recently, microbitBLE was updated on September 29, 2026 and KIGAKU on October 10, 2026.

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