nRF Beacons vs Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs
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.
Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs
This app enables Bluetooth mesh networking on iOS devices. It allows users to provision and configure Bluetooth mesh devices, manage network nodes, and control devices implementing light and lightness models.
- Bluetooth mesh networking implementation
- Device provisioning
- Node configuration
- Publish and subscribe settings
- Node grouping
- Light and lightness model control
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This application implements Bluetooth mesh networking for the iOS operating system. The Bluetooth Mesh by Silicon Labs application can be used to provision Bluetooth mesh capable devices and add them as nodes into a Bluetooth mesh network. The application also supports the configuration of the mesh models, publish and subscribe settings as well grouping of nodes. The application also implements light and lightness models for Bluetooth mesh, so it can be used to control Bluetooth mesh nodes which implement the same models. The application implements the Bluetooth mesh networking stack from the GATT bearer and up all the way to the mesh model layer. The native Bluetooth stack on iOS is used to open LE GATT connections to Bluetooth mesh nodes with a proxy feature enabled.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: nRF Beacons at 3.5 against Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs's 3.1. nRF Beacons also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (7 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, 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 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 7 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 0% and 0% positive.
nRF Beacons ships an update every 4 months, Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Beacons | Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (2 ratings) — better | 3.1 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| 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 | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | Silicon Labs |
Customer experience
nRF Beacons
Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs
In-app purchases
nRF Beacons
No in-app purchases
Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Beacons free?
Is Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs free?
Which has better reviews, nRF Beacons or Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs?
Do nRF Beacons or Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Beacons or Bluetooth mesh by Silicon Labs?
Other comparisons
