nRF Beacons vs BLE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
nRF Beacons
This utility app demonstrates the capabilities of a Bluetooth beacon kit. It enables users to configure beacon settings and define actions triggered by proximity events. Supported actions include displaying content, opening web links, and playing alarms.
- Configure beacon UUID, Major, and Minor
- Set calibrated RSSI
- Define actions for proximity events
- Trigger web browser opening
- Play alarm sounds
- Monitor multiple beacons simultaneously
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The nRF Beacon application has been designed to demonstrate all the features of the nRF8122 Bluetooth® Smart Beacon Kit. It allows you to register actions that will be triggered when a specified event occurs and it also allows you to modify the content of a beacon including the beacon’s UUID, Major, Minor and calibrated RSSI. Currently the app supports the following actions: •Show an object (Mona Lisa painting) •Open a web browser •Play an alarm The app supports the following four events: •User enters the Beacon’s range. •User exits the Beacon’s range. •User is near to the Beacon. •User is at the Beacon. Note: •Supported on IOS 7.0 or later and iPhone 4S or later. •Supports simultaneous monitoring of multiple beacons. •Compatible with nRF51822 Bluetooth® Smart Beacon Kit. •You may find more information about nRF51822 Bluetooth® Smart Beacon Kit on our website: http://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-R-low-energy/nRF51822-Bluetooth-Smart-Beacon-Kit . •The source code of the app nRF Beacon is available on http://www.nordicsemi.com and can be downloaded if you have purchased the nRF51822 Bluetooth® Smart Beacon Kit. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
BLE
This utility tool assists developers in creating and maintaining Bluetooth Low Energy products. It enables connection establishment, monitoring, and configuration for RF testing of BLE devices. Log files can be shared for further analysis.
- Connect to BLE devices
- Monitor connections
- Configure connection parameters
- Start/stop test mode
- Share log files
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This tool is intended to support developers in their work to develop and maintain Bluetooth Low Energy products. BleRf Test can measure the quality of an RF link in both direction for any product implementing the BLE service for RF test. Features: - establish a connection to a BLE device - monitor said connection - share log files with other smartphone apps This app is only intended to support the development of BLE devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: nRF Beacons at 3.5 against BLE's 3.0. nRF Beacons also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 64 months) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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.
nRF Beacons holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
nRF Beacons ships an update every 4 months, BLE every 64 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Beacons | BLE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (2 ratings) — better | 3.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 64 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Arendi AG |
Customer experience
nRF Beacons
BLE
In-app purchases
nRF Beacons
No in-app purchases
BLE
No in-app purchases
