It’s taken three years, but now the Flipper Zero firmware 1.0 is ready, and it brings some quite amazing new features to the platform.
In case you’re not aware, the Flipper Zero is portable multi-tool for pentesters and geeks that looks like a kid’s toy. But beneath the brightly colored plastic is a powerful ARM Cortex processor and an array of antennas and I/O interfaces that allow it to interact with the world around it.
Also: Flipper Zero: Geeky toy or serious security tool?
From a sub-GHz antenna to GPIO pins, the Flipper Zero packs a punch.
And the 1.0 firmware update allows the operating system to really leverage this hardware.
Flipper Zero firmware 1.0 features.
Flipper Zero
My favorite new feature is the improved battery life. The Flipper Zero can now last a month between charges on standby, which is handy for those who don’t use their Flipper Zero often but still want it to be ready to use when they do without the hassle of charging.
Also: The Flipper Zero is still cool. Here are 7 useful things you can do with it
There’s also a vast improvement to Bluetooth data transfer speed with Android devices, with up to double the transfer speeds now possible. Sorry, iPhone users; the developers are still looking at ways to enhance the BLE connection speeds for iOS devices.
Reading NFC cards is also a lot faster — up to three times faster — so the Flipper Zero can get more done in less time.
The Flipper Zero now also supports 20 different RFID protocols and 89 sub-GHz radio protocols.
Running a spectrum analyzer on the Flipper Zero.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Want to create your own Flipper Zero app but don’t want to learn C or C++? The 1.0 firmware adds a scripting engine that allows apps to be written in JavaScript, one of the most common programming languages.
Also: The most popular programming languages in 2024 (and what that even means)
I’ve been testing the update for the past few hours and there’s a lot of new stuff, a lot of old stuff that’s improved, and now with third-party apps, lots of new stuff to play with.
You can update your Flipper Zero by connecting it to a computer and using the qFlipper app or using the app for your iPhone or Android device.