FLIR Tools vs Drift Life
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FLIR Tools
This app allows professional thermographers to view and capture live infrared video and stills from select FLIR cameras on their mobile devices. It enables remote operation of cameras, data analysis, and report generation for thermal imaging inspections.
- Live infrared video streaming
- Remote camera operation
- Import and analyze thermal images
- Measurement tools
- Create and email reports
- Image information display
- Control camera settings
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FLIR Tools Mobile - an intuitive app for FLIR cameras. FLIR Tools Mobile lets professional thermographers use an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to see and capture live, streaming infrared video and stills from select FLIR cameras. With FLIR Tools Mobile the camera can be stationed in one area and operated wirelessly from another – highly useful for IR inspections of energized equipment or performing IR surveys in hard-to-reach locations and harsh working environments. Streaming video and remote access also gives decision makers and others on your team a valuable opportunity to observe and collaborate in the thermal imaging process Using FLIR Tools Mobile, you can do one or more of the following: • Import images from your infrared camera • Lay out and move measurement tools on the image • Read out temperature measurements • Zoom in on images • On the iPhone/iPad, remotely take snapshots when a camera is connected • On the camera, take snapshots that will automatically be saved in the iPhone/iPad • Delete any images on the iPhone/iPad • Display an image’s GPS coordinates on maps • Create and e-mail imagesheets • Create and e-mail reports • Print imagesheets and reports to any AirPrint-enabled printer • Save images to iPhone/iPad photo library • Display image information, such as object parameters, text comments, file information, etc. • Play-back voice comments • Change level and span • Change general settings in the app • Change palette FLIR Tools Mobile lets you take control of the following features on selected cameras: • Auto and manual focus • Level and span • Color palettes • Temperature measurement analytics • Spot • Area box • Circle • Line • Parameter settings • Emissivity • Reflected temperature • Relative humidity • Atmospheric temperature • IR and visible light image blending • Picture-in-picture • Thermal fusion • Image storage • MPEG 4 video • Radiometric JPEG stills
Drift Life
Control your action camera remotely for viewfinding, shooting photos, and capturing video. Stream live, edit footage, and discover global content. Offers 10GB of free cloud storage for your media.
- Remote camera control
- Live streaming
- 10GB free cloud storage
- Content discovery
- Video editing tools
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With the Drift Life app, you can control your Drift camera's every move, from viewfinding, to shooting photos, to capturing video. Plus, it's connected; check in on the app at anytime to see the best content shared from all over the world. - Share your point of view. Activate livestreaming seamlessly with the app, and suddenly you’re everywhere, for anyone, instantly - Store your photos and videos with 10GB of free cloud storage - Discover and share incredible content captured with Drift - Create amazing movies with our powerful, easy-to-use video editing tools
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Drift Life at 3.1 against FLIR Tools's 1.8. Drift Life also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
Drift Life holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 10 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 18% of FLIR Tools's written reviews are positive against 13% of Drift Life's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FLIR Tools | Drift Life |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (19 ratings) | 3.1 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 17.7% of reviews — better | 12.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 192 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FLIR Systems Aktiebolag | Drift Innovation Ltd |
Customer experience
FLIR Tools
Drift Life
User reviews
FLIR Tools
From 19 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📱 Works well with compatible cameras for image transfer
- 🎨 Good editing tools for thermal image analysis
- 📊 Useful for field reporting and client presentations
- 🔧 Spot temperature measurement and annotation features
- ⚡ Quick image review capability in the field
Room to improve
- 🔌 Persistent connection issues with cameras
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 📉 Significant loss of features after updates
- 🚫 Limited device compatibility despite marketing
- ⚠️ Poor remote control functionality
Drift Life
From 10 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Straightforward navigation
- 🚀 Reliable connection to camera
- 👍 Helpful for adjusting camera settings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Connectivity issues
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Unreliable file transfer
- 🐛 Buggy firmware updates
- 🐛 Thousands of duplicate albums created
Bugs and requests
FLIR Tools
Reported bugs
21 issues- App fails to detect cameras on same network
- Connection timeout errors when attempting to import
- App crashes when creating or exporting reports
- Freezing during image import process
- Device discovery never locates camera
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Select-all function selects but provides no action options
- App becomes unresponsive after connecting to camera
- Images import multiple times from single transfer
- Temperature readings display incorrectly (Celsius vs Fahrenheit mismatch)
- App crashes on iOS 15 and newer versions
- Bluetooth import creates duplicate files
- Streaming feature non-functional
- Images lose thermal data when imported from Photos app
- Cannot open files from Files or Photos app
- Screen jumps while typing report details
- Imported images not sorted or grouped properly
- Thermal image and visible image different sizes after toggle
- Connection error with IP address entry
- App unresponsive with ad-hoc WiFi connections
- PDF generation crashes application
- Camera display shows basic thermal image with no controls after upload
Requested features
17 requests- Restore remote control capabilities for camera adjustment
- Enable bulk select-all and batch delete/save operations
- Add image editing features (palette, level, span adjustments)
- Restore multiple report templates and layout options
- Support for Bluetooth connectivity on older cameras
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Video streaming functionality
- Cloud integration with FLIR Ignite
- Ability to edit reports after publishing
- Remove or disable watermark option
- Volume button support for remote image capture
- Direct email/export functionality from app
- Support for more camera models (C3-X, E6-XT, TG267, etc.)
- Swipe and long-press multi-select for images
- Auto-pairing with discovered devices
- Better image organization and sorting
- Emissivity editing capability
- Notes/annotations for video files
Drift Life
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inability to connect to camera Wi-Fi
- Live view not working
- Corrupted/missing video files
- Date/time stamp issues
- App crashes when trying to access footage
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to trim/edit videos
- Better video playback controls
- Improved live streaming functionality
- Simpler user interface
- Compatibility with older camera models
In-app purchases
FLIR Tools
No in-app purchases
Drift Life
No in-app purchases
