BT Notification

BT Notification is a utility meant to connect your iDevices with various smartwatches, fitness trackers and other Bluetooth peripherals. It can be a real help… with a little luck. If you feel lucky, download BT Notification to your iPhone or iPad and enjoy it!

Design 2/5

The app seems to have no design at all. Its aquamarine background just displays text with a generic font. Well, it can be forgiven, as the app is never to be seen after you set it up (unless you use your iDevice as a Peripheral to receive a notification). But still, it lacks everything a good design should boast, even if it’s this sort of utility. It simply looks neglectable.

Usability 2/5

The app is meant to connect your iPhone or iPad to smartwatches and fitness trackers. In theory, it should enrich notification abilities after the native app by the manufacturer. It will send all the notifications to your phone or tablet, using generic drivers compatible with most such devices.

There is no native app for iPad to connect to smartwatches; this one is here to help. Install it, and you will be able to connect any iOS device to any Bluetooth peripheral. There is even more to BT Notification: you can select the status of your device – as Central or Peripheral. The difference is simple: Central device sends notifications, Peripheral receives them. At least, in theory.

In fact, though, it’s a lottery. This app can turn out really helpful with some cheap Chinese smartwatches you want to pair with your iPhone. But with other models it may appear helpless, unable even to detect them. If there was at least a limited trial time, it could have been forgiven. Alas, that’s not the case.

Features 3/5

Besides detecting wearable devices and enabling various sorts of notifications on them, the app, in theory, is able of sending messages between devices of similar type (for example, between your iPhone and iPad, if the native iCloud integration isn’t enough for you, or they have different iCloud accounts). In practice, this feature is very limited too, depending on who knows what.

In-app purchases 2/5

The app is initially paid; it costs $4.99, with price periodically dropping to $3.99. It’s a shame the developer doesn’t provide even a one-day trial; it would have been enough to check whether the app is compatible with your device. Alas, this is out of options. No wonder the app has a rating as low as 1.6 out of 5, and users who bothered to write a review often claim refunding.

The Bottom Line

You’ll be lucky if this app works for your device. If you happened to have a smartwatch or a fitness tracker by a no-name manufacturer, this one can justify your economy, or may ruin it. It’s better to opt for a better-known manufacturer, even if it’s Chinese (say, Xiaomi or Huami), whose native apps are quite okay, but if it’s not the case, well, you can pray for luck and install BTNotification.

• Graphics 2
• Gameplay 2
• Controls 3
• Replay Value 2

Pros

Enables no-name devices (at least, in theory);
Lets you send and receive notifications, depending on your status;
Works on iPad.

Cons

Chances are it will do nothing of the above.