IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS vs Practice with Freeman
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS
Access complete patient diagnostic results for viewing and interpretation on your mobile device. Receive customizable notifications for test results and easily monitor patient status 24/7. View historical data and trends with optimized reports and images for on-the-go analysis.
- Instant patient status updates
- Customizable results notifications
- Optimized mobile results viewing
- Side-by-side historical trend analysis
- Pathology and cytology report viewing
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The results you need, anywhere you need them. No more waiting for workstations. The VetConnect PLUS mobile app gives you access to complete IDEXX patient diagnostics for viewing and interpretation, along with customizable results notifications. -Instant Status Updates: Access test results to monitor patient status 24/7. -Customizable Results Notifications: Customize results notifications to your mobile device with My Diagnostics. -Easy Results Viewing: Results viewing optimized for mobile enables you to view results anytime, anywhere – with easy-to-read pathology and cytology reports and images optimized for mobile. -Spot Trends at a Glance: Easily compare patient historical results side-by-side or in graphs for visual trend analysis. The VetConnect PLUS app uses the latest Apple® technologies and requires iOS 13. © 2026 IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. • 104495-00 • Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. All other ®/TM marks are owned by IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. The IDEXX Privacy Policy is available at idexx.com.
Practice with Freeman
This app provides a safe, simulated environment to practice the precise hand movements required for scanning medical device sensors. It offers spoken guidance and large, forgiving tap targets, designed for individuals with tremors or visual fatigue. The goal is to build confidence and dexterity without interacting with actual medical equipment.
- Simulated sensor scanning practice
- Spoken guidance
- Large, forgiving tap targets
- Haptic feedback
- Printable practice materials
- No interaction with real devices
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Freeman was 83. He had type 1 diabetes, and he could not reliably aim his iPhone at the small code on a Dexcom™ sensor applicator. The task is difficult to understand for him. The target is over there. The camera is on the far side of the phone. The picture is on the near side. And the hands have to move the phone in the direction that brings one into the other. Any link in that chain can break on its own. This app is named in his memory, and it does one thing: it practices that movement. It is designed to be used by diabetic patients along with their carers. It was eye-opening for me to realize that, for some, these simple code-scanning procedures were really difficult. PRACTICE, NEVER THE REAL THING in a SAFE ENVIRONMENT (Not a real sensor activation). Freeman has its own practice codes, and recognizes nothing else. Point it at a real sensor and nothing happens — the app is built so that it cannot succeed on anything but its own material. It does not start, activate, configure, control or communicate with any sensor, and it has no Bluetooth, no network connection and no health data of any kind. There is nothing here that can be set off by accident. Every practice session begins with a reminder that this is practice, and ends with a sentence that says so again: "Practice complete. No sensor was started." BUILT FOR HANDS THAT SHAKE, AND EYES THAT TIRE • Spoken guidance, slowed down, in your own language and accent where the voice exists • One instruction at a time, held long enough to act on • Buttons that light up and pause before they do anything, so you can see which one you pressed • Very large tap targets, and a second tap while a button is confirming is ignored rather than queued • Haptics for three moments only — found it, framing is good, finished — because a constantly buzzing phone is one more thing to fight • Nothing anywhere tells you that you got it wrong 3 THINGS TO PRINT A sheet to tape to a wall, where the target holds still and aiming is the only variable. A target you hold, at the angle you would really meet one. And a cut-out practice label, clearly marked, for an applicator that has already been used and finished with. Print them, or send them to whoever is helping. They are a ladder rather than a menu — start at the wall. FOR THE PERSON HELPING Freeman is often installed by somebody else: a partner, a daughter, a carer. It is free, it has no account, no sign-up, no advertising and no analytics. It stores nothing at all — no history, no results, no pictures. Close the app and there is no record that anyone practiced, because a record of somebody's declining dexterity is not a thing this app is willing to keep. PLEASE READ Practice with Freeman is an independent practice and training application. Freeman is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with Dexcom, Inc. Freeman does not start, activate, configure, control, or communicate with a Dexcom G7 sensor. Freeman is not a medical device. It teaches nothing about diabetes, sensors, or treatment, it gives no medical advice, and it does not assess whether anyone is able to use real equipment. Its measurements describe one practice attempt and nothing more. iPhone only, held upright. Requires the back camera. PRIVACY Practice with Freeman does not collect, store, track, or transmit personal information or usage data. Because Practice with Freeman does not collect information about you, there is no personal data to sell, share, or use for advertising or marketing purposes. Practice with Freeman is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with Dexcom, Inc. Freeman does not start, activate, configure, control, or communicate with a Dexcom G7 sensor.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Practice with Freeman at daily against IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS's every 2 months. Practice with Freeman also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS's advantage is ratings volume (537 vs 2) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). 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.
Practice with Freeman holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS has 537 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS ships an update every 2 months, Practice with Freeman daily. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS | Practice with Freeman |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (537 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 537 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | IDEXX Laboratories | hiroshi howell |
Customer experience
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS
Practice with Freeman
Bugs and requests
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS
Reported bugs
12 issues- Connection error in 'All Complete' tab with non-functional retry button
- Unable to login after recent updates despite valid credentials
- App won't connect or display results after upgrades
- Constant session logouts preventing notifications
- Error messages on iPad preventing access
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- Results display too small on smaller devices
- Slow U/A result posting after recent upgrade
- Cannot view interpretation data on iPhone
- Server communication failures
- Landscape mode not functioning
- Normal values/reference ranges not displaying
- Results marked as new repeatedly for historical tests
Requested features
14 requests- Search functionality for patients
- iPad/tablet optimized version
- Landscape mode support
- Reference ranges displayed without extra clicks
- Email results directly to clients
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- Multi-account/branch unified view for locum vets
- Filter in-house diagnostics from reference lab results
- Ability to mark results as unread
- Apple Watch support
- Client phone numbers in result fields
- Ability to flag or star important results
- Show samples in progress, not just completed
- Better trending visualization for serial results
- Larger image display for radiographs/X-rays
Practice with Freeman
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS
No in-app purchases
Practice with Freeman
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS free?
Is Practice with Freeman free?
Which has better reviews, IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS or Practice with Freeman?
Do IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS or Practice with Freeman have ads?
Which is updated more often, IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS or Practice with Freeman?
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