Comparison

Beltone HearPlus vs Nucleus Smart

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

Head to head
About

Beltone HearPlus

Control your compatible hearing aids directly from your smartphone. Adjust volume, change programs, personalize sound settings, and even locate misplaced devices. This app empowers users to fine-tune their listening experience and manage their hearing aids with ease.

Highlights
  • Adjust hearing aid volume
  • Mute hearing aids
  • Control streaming accessory volume
  • Sound Enhancer for speech and noise
  • Change and personalize programs
  • Save custom settings as Favorites
  • Locate lost hearing aids
  • Tinnitus Sound Generator
Features
Read full description

The Beltone HearPlus™ app is compatible with the following hearing aids: • Beltone Legend™ • Beltone First™ • Beltone Boost Plus™ • Beltone Boost™ The Beltone HearPlus app lets you control your hearing aids directly from your mobile device. You can change programs, and make simple or more advanced sound adjustments and save them as favorites. The app helps you learn what you can do and how to do it. It can even help you find your hearing aids if you lose them. Notes: Please contact your local Beltone representative for product and feature availability in your market. We recommend that the hearing aids run the latest software version. If in doubt, please contact your hearing care professional. Beltone HearPlus mobile device compatibility: Please consult the Beltone app website for up-to-date compatibility information: www.Beltone.com/compatibility Use the Beltone HearPlus app to: • Adjust volume settings on your hearing aids • Mute your hearing aids • Adjust volume of your optionally acquired Beltone streaming accessories • Adjust speech focus as well as noise and wind-noise levels with Sound Enhancer (feature availability depends on your hearing aid model and the fitting by your hearing care professional) • Change manual and streamer programs • Edit and personalize program names • Adjust treble, middle and bass tones to your preferences • Save your preferred settings as a Favorite – you can even tag to a location • Help locate lost or misplaced hearing aids • Tinnitus manager: Adjust sound variation and frequency of the Tinnitus Sound Generator. Select Nature Sounds (feature availability depends on your hearing aid model and the fitting by your hearing care professional) For more information please visit the support website via the link in the app store.

About

Nucleus Smart

This app allows users to control their hearing sound processor directly from a mobile device. Adjust volume, treble, bass, and sensitivity settings, and stream audio wirelessly. It also helps locate lost devices and monitor battery levels and usage statistics.

Highlights
  • Control sound processor settings
  • Activate wireless streaming
  • Adjust volume, treble, bass, sensitivity
  • Locate lost sound processor
  • View processor status and battery
  • Track usage statistics
Features
Read full description

As you move through your day you may be exposed to challenging noise environments. In these everyday moments, actively managing your device settings can help you to hear better. Whether you need to adjust your volume, change program or switch to direct streaming of sound, the Nucleus® Smart App can help you do it quickly, easily and discreetly. We understand you need your sound processor to be working well at all times, so you can hear your best and go about your daily activities. That’s why the Nucleus Smart App offers convenient ways to check the status of your battery, microphones and sound processor, keep track of your hearing and even find a lost processor. With the Nucleus Smart App, you can: - Change programs on your sound processor and activate wireless streaming - Adjust the volume, treble/bass and sensitivity settings (if enabled by your healthcare professional) on your sound processor - Adjust the volume of your Cochlear® True Wireless™ devices - Locate your lost sound processor - View your sound processor status and battery level - Track time spent in speech and the number of coil offs Note: To access the complete functionality of the Nucleus Smart App you will need a Cochlear Account, or you can try the app in Demo Mode. To use the Nucleus Smart App, you first need to pair your Nucleus Sound Processor with a compatible mobile device. See in-app instructions or visit our support page www.nucleussmartapp.com. Compatibility: For information regarding the sound processors, operating systems and devices that are compatible with the Smart Apps and support apps, visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. The Nucleus Smart App only uses your GPS when it detects your Nucleus Sound Processor has been lost or turned off, and does not constantly track your location. Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Screenshots

Beltone HearPlus4 screens
Nucleus Smart4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Beltone HearPlus at 3.7 against Nucleus Smart's 2.9. Beltone HearPlus also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 18.0). Nucleus Smart's advantage is ratings volume (784 vs 28). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beltone HearPlus holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nucleus Smart has 784 ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of Beltone HearPlus's written reviews are positive against 26% of Nucleus Smart's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beltone HearPlus ships an update every 3 months, Nucleus Smart every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Beltone HearPlus versus Nucleus Smart: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeltone HearPlusNucleus Smart
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (28 ratings) — better2.9 (784 ratings)
Positive reviews24.8% of reviews26.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings28784 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.2 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size254 MB225 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGN HearingCochlear Ltd

Customer experience

Beltone HearPlus

All ratings28 ratings
Positive60.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews113 reviews
Positive24.8%
Neutral11.5%
Negative63.7%

Nucleus Smart

All ratings736 ratings
Positive41.6%
Neutral16.2%
Negative42.3%
Written reviews392 reviews
Positive26.0%
Neutral19.6%
Negative54.3%

User reviews

Beltone HearPlus

From 28 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Finder feature is indispensable
  • 👍 App works well when it works
  • 👍 Great features to control hearing aids
  • 👍 Calls go directly to hearing aids
  • 👍 Music from iPhone goes directly to hearing aids

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connection issues
  • 🐛 App frequently unable to locate hearing aids
  • 🐛 Connection comes and goes
  • 🐛 Sometimes connected to one ear, sometimes none
  • 🐛 App disconnects when exiting

Nucleus Smart

From 784 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient Bluetooth connectivity
  • 🎧 Excellent audio streaming
  • 💡 Useful features like 'Find My Processor'

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connectivity issues
  • 🔁 Unstable app performance after updates
  • 🔋 Inaccurate battery level reporting
  • 🤔 Limited functionality compared to expectations

Bugs and requests

Beltone HearPlus

Reported bugs

53 issues
  • App frequently unable to locate hearing aids
  • Connection issues since app update
  • Connection comes and goes
  • Sometimes connected to one ear, sometimes none
  • App disconnects when exiting
Show 48 more
  • Hearing aids disconnect from app
  • Bluetooth connectivity issues
  • App is unstable
  • Bluetooth connection drops randomly
  • App is not user friendly
  • App loses connections with hearing aids
  • App doesn't work with new iPhones
  • Pairing drops every 5 seconds
  • Intermittent clicks in and out of Bluetooth
  • Hesitates
  • Constant problems with incoming calls
  • Hearing aids click when using Waze app
  • Bluetooth delay with calls and Waze
  • App is broken after updates
  • App won't pair after update
  • Bluetooth delay for calls
  • Sound quality affected
  • Takes too long to connect for calls
  • App is not adequate
  • Constant issues after Apple update
  • App is junk
  • App won't open
  • App is useless
  • App is a piece of crap
  • App doesn't even open past home page
  • App gets stuck in setup
  • App is not working
  • App is awful
  • App is difficult to use
  • App is not effective
  • Demo mode never changes to function
  • Connection fails repeatedly
  • Cannot listen to music or GPS
  • Total garbage
  • Cannot listen to music or podcasts
  • Problems with connections
  • Takes 10 seconds to connect
  • One ear then other
  • Poor sound quality for caller
  • App doesn't work half the time
  • App loses connection several times a day
  • Constantly attempts to load
  • App is not working with latest IOS update
  • App doesn't recognize hearing aids
  • Horrible and potentially dangerous
  • Constantly connecting and disconnecting
  • Doesn't switch over immediately
  • Cannot hear anything for about a second

Requested features

14 requests
  • Improve Bluetooth connectivity and stability
  • Improve lag time for Bluetooth
  • Get text message notifications through hearing aids
  • Make text message notifications work when iPhone is silenced
  • Get rid of questionnaires that disconnect aids
Show 9 more
  • Allow adjustment of each individual hearing aid
  • Allow users to choose if they want a new version
  • Fix delay in Bluetooth connection for map apps
  • Keep hearing aids connected when app is in use
  • Make hearing aids connect in 2 seconds or less
  • Allow more control of features turned on/off
  • Make hearing aids rechargeable and waterproof
  • Allow users to modify favorite settings
  • Detect lost connection with the phone

Nucleus Smart

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App freezes or fails to detect processors
  • Streaming audio issues and unexpected disconnections
  • Settings changes not persisting after app restarts

Requested features

4 requests
  • Apple Watch support
  • Ability to save custom settings
  • Improved Bluetooth range and stability
  • Parental controls for shared devices

In-app purchases

None

Beltone HearPlus

No in-app purchases

None

Nucleus Smart

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beltone HearPlus free?
Beltone HearPlus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nucleus Smart free?
Nucleus Smart is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Beltone HearPlus or Nucleus Smart?
Beltone HearPlus is rated higher. Beltone HearPlus averages 3.7 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Nucleus Smart averages 2.9 from 784 ratings.
Do Beltone HearPlus or Nucleus Smart have ads?
Neither Beltone HearPlus nor Nucleus Smart shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beltone HearPlus or Nucleus Smart?
Beltone HearPlus ships an update every 3 months, and Nucleus Smart every 2 months. Most recently, Beltone HearPlus was updated on October 22, 2026 and Nucleus Smart on November 1, 2026.

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