Comparison

irBoard Lite vs SmartCharger

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

Head to head
About

irBoard Lite

Features
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Using irBoard Lite, you can conveniently monitor the status and operation of FA equipment and IoT devices through an iPad or any other iOS device. The control device known as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) has communication protocols. irBoard Lite communicates with PLCs via its protocol. Additionally, it has the capability to communicate effectively with IoT devices, specifically the ESP32 device at present. You don’t need additional software besides irBoard Lite because the screen editor is already included. ===================================== irBoard Lite is a limited version of irBoard. The Lite edition allows users to connect to only one project per day and the launch page only with a maximum of ten items. And importing a project is not allowed. To lift these limitations, you can either acquire an unlock item or redeem a ticket to access for four hours. ===================================== FEATURE: - You can conveniently monitor the status and operation of FA equipment and IoT devices. - Although the FA equipment has fixed touch panels installed, the irBoard Lite on iOS devices offers superior portability. - It is possible to remotely check the status of a device in PLCs. - To ensure safety, manipulating connected PLC devices is only allowed on a single iOS device. - By switching projects, you can easily connect to multiple FA machines using just one iOS device. - irBoard Lite supports the following PLCs via Ethernet connection: MITSUBISHI Electric, KEYENCE, OMRON, and YOKOGAWA Electric, and support Modbus/TCP. - It can also connect to an open-source PLC LadderDrive running on Raspberry Pi. (https://github.com/ito-soft-design/ladder_drive) - The irBoard Library for ESP32 library supports ESP32 devices.(https://github.com/ito-soft-design/irboard_esp32) - The irBoard.NET library supports Windows .NET applications.(https://github.com/ito-soft-design/irboard-dotnet) - Using the LadderDrive protocol, allows for communication with IoT devices such as ESP32 without any difficulty. - The screen editor has already been included. it is easy for you to make modifications to the pages. ===================================== --- Notes --- With irBoard Lite, you have the ability to turn devices on and off. If you require the interlocking of PLC-controlled devices, it is necessary to configure this on the PLC. To ensure safety, we suggest setting the status of such devices to read-only. You can monitor the health status to determine if the connection is stable. If the connection is lost, it’s important to take precautionary measures when operating your PLC. =====================================

About

SmartCharger

Monitor your Apple device's charging and discharging data in real-time. This app connects via Bluetooth to a specific battery charger, offering seamless integration with your portable computing devices.

Highlights
  • Real-time charging/discharging data display
  • Bluetooth communication
  • Integrates with NC2500 Battery Charger
  • Supports iTouch, iPhone, and iPad
Features
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SmartCharger seamlessly integrates advancements in portable computing with the NC2500 Battery Charger;bringing real-time monitoring to your Apple® devices such as the iTouch, iPhone and iPad. With the Bluetooth communication, the SmartCharger can display your charger’s charging/discharging data.

Screenshots

irBoard Lite4 screens
SmartCharger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SmartCharger at none against irBoard Lite's 7. SmartCharger also leads on iOS requirement (6.0 vs 16.0). irBoard Lite's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months). On price, ads 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. irBoard Lite sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. SmartCharger asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

irBoard Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, SmartCharger every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
irBoard Lite versus SmartCharger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterirBoard LiteSmartCharger
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB9 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperITO SOFT DESIGN Inc.SkyRC Technology Co.,Ltd.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

irBoard Lite

One-time7
  • Can import projects.$6.99
  • Unlock IoT$59.99
  • Unlock Modbus/TCP$119.99
Show 4 more
  • Unlock MITSUBISHI$199.99
  • Unlock KEYENCE$199.99
  • Unlock Omron$199.99
  • Unlock YOKOGAWA$199.99
None

SmartCharger

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is irBoard Lite free?
irBoard Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SmartCharger free?
SmartCharger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do irBoard Lite or SmartCharger have ads?
Neither irBoard Lite nor SmartCharger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, irBoard Lite or SmartCharger?
irBoard Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, and SmartCharger every 7 months. Most recently, irBoard Lite was updated on October 7, 2026 and SmartCharger on October 9, 2026.

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