Comparison

Alpha 1 vs LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor

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

Head to head
About

Alpha 1

Control and interact with robots using Bluetooth. Download actions from the internet, design your own, and use your phone as a remote control for games like football and fighting. The app also allows for robot information retrieval and firmware upgrades.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth robot control
  • Downloadable actions
  • User-designed actions
  • Phone as remote control
  • Robot information and firmware upgrade
Read full description

Alpha 1 is to implement a software to interact with robots, this software using the bluetooth BLE protocol to transmit control command, implementation and robot interaction, let robot singing and dancing, tai chi, etc. Specific functions as follows: 1, via bluetooth control robot to perform the specified action 2, downloaded all kinds of actions from the Internet and let the robot to perform them 3, the mobile phone as a remote control panel to control the robot to play football, play fighting,etc 4, read the robot information and upgrade it's firmware 5, user can design actions for robot.

About

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor

Build and code intelligent robots with interactive instructions and a visual, drag-and-drop interface. Explore over 50 activities, utilize machine learning for object recognition, and share creations with a fan community.

Highlights
  • Interactive building instructions
  • Drag-and-drop coding interface (Scratch-based)
  • 50+ coding activities
  • Machine learning for object/sound recognition
  • Community section for fan models
  • Remote control functionality
  • Python coding support
Features
Read full description

The LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor App will be discontinued on October 1, 2026, with no further updates or support. Resources on LEGO.com will guide you in transitioning your play experience to the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime App. Note: A full 1:1 experience or firmware replacement cannot be guaranteed. Create intelligent remote-control robots and vehicles using interactive in-app building instructions, with the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Robot Inventor App! For use with the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor (51515) set, this companion app has everything you need to build Charlie, Tricky, Blast, M.V.P. and Gelo, each with their own unique abilities. Then get ready to code and play your way through 50+ challenging activities. A fun build-and-play experience As you construct each robotic toy using the step-by-step building instructions in the app, you’ll complete a series of fun coding activities along the way. But if you prefer, you can also download a PDF version. Coding, the fun way If you’ve ever used a visual coding environment, you’ll be right at home with the Robot Inventor App’s colourful drag-and-drop canvas based on Scratch. Each coding element is grouped into categories so you can quickly find what you’re looking for. As well as using the coding canvas to complete the 50+ activities included in the app, you can also code your own activities for an even greater challenge – or, if you’re a more advanced coder, you can also use Python. Take control The Robot Inventor App includes a remote-control feature so you can get your robot walking, dancing and firing with just a few taps! You can also customise it to create your own personalised controller. Learn while you play While you’re building, coding and playing with your robots, you’ll also be exploring, experimenting and learning. Advanced machine learning Using your device’s camera or microphone, you can train your models to recognise and react to objects and sounds… even your own voice! A community of fan models The Community section of the app lets you build and code a growing collection of fun models submitted by some of our fans. Share your cool creation If you’ve designed and built your own amazing robot, you can take a photo of it and upload it to LEGO Life for everyone to see. You can also get loads more inspiration from what others have created. Key Features: Intuitive drag-and-drop coding interface based on Scratch 50+ fun and challenging activities for beginners and more advanced users Machine learning with advanced object and sound recognition Community section with fan models and inspiration Hub to hub connection for extended play possibilities Help Centre with lots of tips for learning and exploring Text-based Python coding for more advanced users Bluetooth connectivity for wireless communication Remote control for instant action Consistent experience across iOS, macOS. Digital building instructions included in the app Kids gain STEM skills through playful learning IMPORTANT: This is not a stand-alone app. It’s used to build and code interactive LEGO robot toys included with the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor (51515) set. To check whether your device is compatible with the Robot Inventor 51515 set and Robot Inventor App, visit www.LEGO.com/devicecheck. LEARN MORE: For more information about LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor, visit www.LEGO.com/themes/MINDSTORMS/about. There’s also lots more for kids at www.LEGO.com/kids/MINDSTORMS. For app support, contact LEGO Consumer Service at service.LEGO.com/contactus. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure, MINDSTORMS and the MINDSTORMS logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2022 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

Alpha 11 screens
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor at 59% against Alpha 1's 0%. LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor also leads on rating (4.0 vs 3.1) and ratings volume (227 vs 24). Alpha 1's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). On price, update cadence, 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

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

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor has 227 ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Alpha 1's written reviews are positive against 59% of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alpha 1 ships an update monthly, LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Alpha 1 versus LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlpha 1LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (24 ratings)4.0 (227 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews59.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24227 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB587 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUBTECH ROBOTICS CORPLEGO

Customer experience

Alpha 1

All ratings24 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative45.8%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor

All ratings227 ratings
Positive73.6%
Neutral6.2%
Negative20.3%
Written reviews137 reviews
Positive59.1%
Neutral16.1%
Negative24.8%

Bugs and requests

Alpha 1

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Motors not working as expected
  • Sensors not being detected
  • App not loading or getting stuck on startup
  • Firmware update issues
  • Inability to connect to the hub

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Nintendo Switch controllers
  • Implement 360-degree view for building instructions
  • Introduce line and bar graphs
  • Add a time sensing block with 12/24-hour options
  • Improve remote control functionality

In-app purchases

None

Alpha 1

No in-app purchases

None

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Alpha 1 free?
Alpha 1 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor free?
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Alpha 1 or LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor?
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor is rated higher. Alpha 1 averages 3.1 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor averages 4.0 from 227 ratings.
Do Alpha 1 or LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor have ads?
Neither Alpha 1 nor LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Alpha 1 or LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor?
Alpha 1 ships an update monthly, and LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor every 2 months. Most recently, Alpha 1 was updated on July 4, 2026 and LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Inventor on September 17, 2026.

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