Comparison

4x4 Cockpit vs VE

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

Head to head
About

4x4 Cockpit

Features
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Turn your phone into an off-road cockpit. Whether you're climbing rocky trails or exploring scenic routes, 4x4 Cockpit gives you real-time insight into your vehicle, terrain, and route — on your phone and on your car's CarPlay screen. Core Features: • Tilt Visualization — Track roll and pitch with large animated indicators, oversized percentage numbers, and risk-based colors that shift from safe to caution to danger • Adjustable Risk Limits — Set your own thresholds for when tilt gauges turn yellow and red, tuned to your vehicle and terrain • Speed, Altitude & Compass — View live driving data at a glance, with GPS-assisted heading for reliable direction while moving • Acceleration Bar — Monitor acceleration and braking with dynamic feedback • Slope Units Your Way — Show steepness in degrees (°), percent (%), per mille (‰) or vertical-to-horizontal ratio (1:n) • CarPlay Integration — Choose between Visual, Classic, and Extended display modes, with large sunlight-readable numbers; drag the readings into the order you want — the same order applies to your phone screen • Landscape & Portrait — Full support for horizontal and vertical orientation on Phone, including Reset Position when the device is mounted sideways • Metric or Imperial — Switch between km/h, m and mph, ft from the Settings screen (auto-detected on first launch); applies to the live cockpit, ride recordings and exported maps • 18 Interface Languages — English (UK), English (US), 中文, हिन्दी, Español, العربية, Français, বাংলা, Português, Bahasa Indonesia, اردو, Deutsch, 日本語, Naijá, Tiếng Việt, Türkçe, Polski and Русский — pick yours from a flag list; the on-screen instruction adapts too • Ride Recording — Record your route and export it as a map image with localized details • Offline Maps — Save maps for later use and export them with overlays and details • Smart Calibration — Reset Position to set your own level reference; recalibration prompts are skipped when a recent reading is already reliable • Optional Intro Screen — Instructions show on first launch and can be toggled off from Settings once you know the app • Live Sensor Dashboard — Motion, heading, gravity, GPS, and more in real time Built for off-road drivers, overlanders, explorers, and adventure travel. For informational use only. Always drive responsibly and mount your device securely.

About

VE

This app reads and displays data from Victron Energy BLE Instant Readout devices directly on your iPhone and Apple CarPlay. It provides electrical values in a clear interface and uses text-to-speech for announcements while driving.

Highlights
  • Local Victron BLE Instant Readout decoding
  • Configurable advertisement keys
  • Automatic BLE scanning
  • Device list with stale-device removal
  • iPhone display for decoded values
  • Apple CarPlay device list with voice announcements
Features
Read full description

VE-Display shows your Victron Energy system's live status — SmartShunt battery monitor, SmartSolar charge controller, Orion XS DC-DC converter, Lynx Smart BMS, AC chargers and more — right on your iPhone, in CarPlay, and on Apple Watch. No VictronConnect account, no cloud, no internet connection required: everything is decoded locally from the Bluetooth broadcast your Victron devices already send out. HOW IT WORKS Victron's "Instant Readout" devices broadcast their status over Bluetooth Low Energy. VE-Display listens for these broadcasts and decodes them locally using the Advertisement Key from each device's VictronConnect app — the same key VictronConnect itself uses, read once and stored on your phone. ON YOUR IPHONE See every discovered device at a glance: state of charge, battery voltage and current, PV power and yield, input/output voltage and current, charger state, alarms, and more — only the fields each device actually reports, no clutter. • Live Activities for your SmartShunt and your SmartSolar on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island: start them from the menu and keep an eye on your system without unlocking your phone • SmartSolar widget for the Home Screen, in small and medium sizes: PV power, charge state, today's yield, battery voltage and current • A searchable in-app Help, and a What's New screen with the full version history ON CARPLAY • Tap a device to hear its values read aloud and see them on screen • Each row rolls through that device's values two at a time, the same idea as VictronConnect's own CarPlay list, with a green/red dot showing a live reading vs. a cached fallback • Ask Siri for a device's status or how many devices are reporting, hands-free • Prefer silence? Turn CarPlay's voice readout off in one tap and still see every value on screen • Two glanceable widgets for the numbers that matter on the road, on your CarPlay dashboard, Home Screen or in iPhone StandBy: – SmartShunt: state of charge, voltage, current, power, consumed Ah, time to go and the auxiliary reading – Orion XS: charging state, input and output values, and why it's off • Widgets highlight alarms and warn you when a reading is getting old • For the SmartShunt, an optional background Bluetooth connection keeps CarPlay, widgets and Live Activities updating even with the iPhone screen locked ON APPLE WATCH • A dedicated Watch app shows your SmartShunt's state of charge on a glanceable gauge, plus every other discovered device in a scrollable list with full detail • Add the VE-Display complication to your watch face for state of charge and voltage without opening the app GETTING STARTED 1. Open VictronConnect once and copy the Advertisement Key from Product Info 2. Add that key in VE-Display — one key per Victron device 3. Open VE-Display on iPhone or in CarPlay and select your device once it's discovered SUPPORTED DEVICES SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers, SmartShunt battery monitors, Smart Battery Sense, Orion XS DC-DC converters, Lynx Smart BMS, and Smart IP43 / Smart Charger AC chargers — any Victron product broadcasting Instant Readout data. PRIVACY FIRST VE-Display does not collect personal data, does not use analytics, and never sends your Victron data anywhere. BLE decoding, advertisement keys and device history all stay on your device. VE-DISPLAY PRO CarPlay (voice readouts, Siri, widgets, Live Activities) and Apple Watch each include their own one-time free trial, so you can try both before deciding. VE-Display Pro is a single one-time purchase that unlocks unlimited use of everything — no subscription.

Screenshots

4x4 Cockpit4 screens
VE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: VE at Free against 4x4 Cockpit's $8.99. VE also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). 4x4 Cockpit's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On 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

VE is free to download; 4x4 Cockpit costs $8.99 up front. VE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 4x4 Cockpit asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

4x4 Cockpit ships an update every 3 weeks, VE weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 4 level
4x4 Cockpit versus VE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter4x4 CockpitVE
Price$8.99Free — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikolaj AdamowiczMarco Frigerio

In-app purchases

None

4x4 Cockpit

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

VE

One-time1
  • VE-Display Pro$2.99

Questions

Is 4x4 Cockpit free?
4x4 Cockpit costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is VE free?
VE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do 4x4 Cockpit or VE have ads?
Neither 4x4 Cockpit nor VE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 4x4 Cockpit or VE?
4x4 Cockpit ships an update every 3 weeks, and VE weekly. Most recently, 4x4 Cockpit was updated on October 30, 2026 and VE on October 31, 2026.

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