Sound Blaster Central vs Home Assistant
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sound Blaster Central
Control your Creative Sound Blaster Bluetooth devices with advanced audio settings and enhancements. Enjoy built-in music playback, customizable alarms, and helpful video tutorials for seamless product setup and usage.
- Advanced audio controls
- Music playback
- Customizable alarm
- Video tutorials
- Product setup support
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Sound Blaster Central gives you simplified support for product setup and usage with Creative Sound Blaster Bluetooth devices that incorporate the multi-core SB-Axx1 audio chipset. It adds unprecedented audio controls and enhancements right from the palm of your hand! Advanced Controls - Sound Blaster Central grants you mobile access to a full suite of advanced features that improves your music, movies, gaming and communication experience. E.g. Increase movie dialog levels for added clarity, or soften explosions so you won’t wake the family, removes ambient and acoustic noise for clearer communication, and much more! Built-in Music Playback - Play your favorite songs without having to switch to another app. When used with your Sound Blaster Bluetooth device incorporating the multi-core SB-Axx1 audio chipset, you can enhance your music experience within the same playback screen. Customizable Alarm - Wake up to MP3 music or preset alarm tones with snooze function. Video Tutorials - Step-by-step videos teach you how to connect your smart device wirelessly to Creative Sound Blaster Bluetooth devices. - Help you explore and take advantage of the many features of Creative Sound Blaster Bluetooth devices. Note: Some features mentioned are product specific, refer to its user manual for details.
Home Assistant
Control your entire smart home from one app, locally and privately. Automate devices, receive notifications, and manage your home's data securely. Integrates with thousands of smart devices and open standards.
- Control entire home from one app
- Discover and configure new devices
- Automate device actions
- Local data privacy
- Connect to open standards (Z-Wave, Zigbee, Matter)
- Remote access via Home Assistant Cloud
- Location-based automation
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The Home Assistant Companion app allows you to access your Home Assistant instance on the go. Home Assistant is the smart home solution focused on privacy, choice, and sustainability. It runs locally in your home via a device like the Home Assistant Green or Raspberry Pi. This app connects to all the most powerful features of Home Assistant, - One app to control the whole home - Home Assistant is compatible with the biggest brands in the smart home, connecting to thousands of smart devices and services. - Discover automatically and quickly configure new devices - such as Philips Hue, Sonos, and IKEA Tradfri. - Automate everything - Make all the devices in your home work in harmony - have your lights dim when you start watching a movie, or turn off your heat when you’re away from home. - Keep your home’s data in the home - use it privately to see past trends and averages. - Connect to open standards with hardware add-ons - including Z-Wave, Zigbee, Matter, Thread, and Bluetooth. - Connect anywhere - If you would like to access this app while away from home, the most secure and simple way to get started is Home Assistant Cloud. The app unlocks your smartphone or tablet as a home automation tool. - Securely share your location, using it to automate heating, security, and so much more. - Get notifications on what's happening in your home, from detecting leaks to doors left open, you have full control over what it tells you. - Carplay functionality lets you open a garage or disable the security system from the dash of your car. - Build your own widgets to control any device in your home with a tap. - Integrate Home Assistant's functionality into Shortcuts, for example have your phone’s morning alarm turn on the coffee machine. - Apple Watch compatibility can show your home's temperature on a watch face or quickly activate devices. - Text or talk to your local voice assistant on your device. - Mac compatibility allows you to control your home from your desktop, but also to share data to build automation, like having your streaming lights turn on when your camera is active. Join the over 1 million users and empower your home with better privacy, choice and sustainability. Compatible with: Airthings, Amazon Alexa, Amcrest, Apple HomeKit, Apple TV, ASUSWRT, August, Belink WeMo, Bluetooth, Bose SoundTouch, Broadlink, BTHome, deCONZ, Denon, Devolo, DLNA, Ecobee, Ecovacs, Ecowitt, Elgato, EZVIZ, Fritz, Fully Kiosk, GoodWe, Govee, Growatt, Hikvision, Hive, Home Connect, Homematic, HomeWizard, Honeywell, iCloud, IFTTT, IKEA Tradfri, Insteon, Jellyfin, LG Smart TVs, LIFX, Logitech Harmony, Lutron Caseta, Magic Home, Matter, MotionEye, MQTT, MusicCast, Nanoleaf, Netatmo, Nuki, OctoPrint, ONVIF, Opower, Overkiz, OwnTracks, Panasonic Viera, Philips Hue, Pi-hole, Plex, Reolink, Ring, Roborock, Roku, Samsung TVs, Sense, Sensiba, Shelly, SmartThings, SolarEdge, Sonarr, Sonos, Sony Bravia, Spotify, Steam, SwitchBot, Synology, Tado, Tasmota, Tesla Wall, Thread, Tile, TP-Link Smart Home, Tuya, UniFi, UPnP, Verisure, Vizio, Wallbox, WebRTC, WiZ, WLED, Xbox, Xiaomi BLE, Yale, Yeelight, YoLink, Z-Wave, Zigbe
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Home Assistant at 4.7 against Sound Blaster Central's 1.7. Home Assistant also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 17%) and ratings volume (4K vs 26). Sound Blaster Central's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 16.4). 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.
Home Assistant holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Home Assistant has 4K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Sound Blaster Central's written reviews are positive against 54% of Home Assistant's.
Sound Blaster Central ships an update every 6 weeks, Home Assistant every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sound Blaster Central | Home Assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (26 ratings) | 4.7 (4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 17.3% of reviews | 54.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 26 | 4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 232 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Creative Labs Pte. Ltd. | Nabu Casa, Inc |
Customer experience
Sound Blaster Central
Home Assistant
Bugs and requests
Sound Blaster Central
Reported bugs
30 issues- App does not open/launch
- App crashes immediately upon opening
- App does not recognize devices
- Bluetooth connection frequently disconnects
- App settings fail to load
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- App does not work with latest iOS versions (iOS 17.1, iOS 11, iOS 9, iOS 12)
- App does not work with newer iPhone models (iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone XS Max)
- App shows a black screen with only a 'settings' box
- Features removed in app updates
- Slow and unstable connection over Bluetooth
- App has pre-retina resolution
- App does not show amplifier as connected
- Controls do not work
- App crashes when trying to tweak settings
- App loses connection when playing from iTunes
- App doesn't work with X G5
- Cable connection option does not work on iOS 11
- Sharp noise pops up every few minutes on iOS 10
- Trouble getting iPhone 8 Plus to recognize device
- No equalizer on the app
- No customisation or features on the app
- App crashes a lot
- Compromises iPhone earbud quality
- Physical touch control panel volume is tricky
- App falls over after initial playback
- No sound when switching from music to movie
- App crashes every time
- Settings do not load
- Cannot switch between different sources
- No options to control SBX Studio or other features on iOS 9
Requested features
10 requests- Update app for new iOS versions
- Update app for new iPhone models
- Add support for more devices (e.g., Blaster Roar)
- Create a unified Creative Central app for all devices
- Add direct mode option
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add equalizer functionality
- Improve UI and modernize interface
- Add a physical control panel disable function
- Fix Bluetooth connection issues
- Resolve app crashing on launch
Home Assistant
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sound Blaster Central
No in-app purchases
Home Assistant
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sound Blaster Central free?
Is Home Assistant free?
Which has better reviews, Sound Blaster Central or Home Assistant?
Do Sound Blaster Central or Home Assistant have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sound Blaster Central or Home Assistant?
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