Sphero Edu Device CompatibilityUpdated 9 days ago
The Sphero Edu software is available on many common devices through the use of our Sphero Edu Web App, or our native apps on iOS, macOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows, and Amazon Fire OS. Some platforms don't support all robots or software features. Please review the information below to better understand which robots and features are supported on your devices.
System Compatibility
Each platform has specific hardware or software requirements. See the table and additional information below to ensure your devices will support the Sphero Edu app.
| NATIVE APP COMPATIBILITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Platform | |||||
| iOS | Android | Chrome OS | Amazon Fire OS | Windows | macOS | |
| The minimum operating system or required hardware for each platform to run their respective native app | OS Requirements: iOS 13+ Additional Requirements: • Bluetooth 4.0+ | OS Requirements: Android 8+ Additional Requirements: • Bluetooth 4.0+ | OS Requirements: Android 8+ Additional Requirements: • 4GB memory • Bluetooth 4.0+ | OS Requirements: Fire OS 7+ Additional Requirements: Bluetooth 4.0+ | OS Requirements: • Windows 10 2004(20H1)+ • Windows 11 Additional Requirements: • 64-bit • 4GB memory • Bluetooth 4.0+ | OS Requirements: macOS 10.15+ Additional Requirements: Bluetooth 4.0+ |
| WEB APP COMPATIBILITY | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Platform | |||||
iOS | Android | Chrome OS | Fire OS | Windows | macOS | |
| Operating Systems that are officially supported with the Sphero Edu Web App | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Description | Browser | |||||
| Chrome | Edge | Safari | Firefox | Opera | IE | |
| Browsers that support connecting to robots with Web Bluetooth | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
**Important Note!**
Even though some devices may meet the hardware or software requirements, they may not work well due to variation in the quality of Bluetooth hardware. Contact us at [email protected] about compatibility if you are purchasing devices for your school for use with Sphero robots. We can help ensure you get devices that will provide a good experience.
Web App
The Sphero Edu Web App allows you to program compatible robots right from your internet browser - no need to use a native app! This is a great solution if you use a Chromebook, macOS or Windows device.
The Web App uses Web Bluetooth to connect to your robots. Currently the Chrome and Edge browsers support Web Bluetooth and others, like Safari, Opera, and Firefox, do not.
iOS and macOS
The iOS app is available through the App Store. Any iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch that runs iOS 13 or newer is compatible with the iOS Sphero Edu app.
The Sphero Edu app is not compatible with the Apple Watch or Apple TV.
macOS
For macOS, you can use either the Web App in your browser, or use the macOS app available through the App Store. Any MacBook, iMac, Mac Pro, or Mac mini that runs macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or newer is compatible with the macOS Sphero Edu app.
Chrome OS
For Chrome OS, you can use either the Web App in your browser, or use the Android version of Sphero Edu. Not all Chromebooks can run Android apps, though all models released since 2019 do. Any Chromebook that supports Android 8 or newer can run the latest versions of Sphero Edu Android app. Google recommends using Chromebooks with 4GB of RAM when running Android apps, as they require a compatibility layer called ARC (Android Runtime for Chrome) to run the apps. This results in additional memory usage beyond the RAM required to run the Sphero Edu app itself.
Android
The Android app is accessible in Google Play. Any Android phone or tablet that supports Android 8 or newer can run the latest versions of Sphero Edu.
With Android 12+, users will need to enable Nearby devices permissions to scan for and connect to robots. This permission is not related to Location Permissions, and is instead related to how Android 12 handles BLE use for scanning purposes. Learn more at their developer documentation here.
Windows
On Windows, you can use either the Web App or the native Windows app, which is accessible from the Microsoft App Store or as a downloadable installer from our website. Any Windows laptop or desktop computer that runs Windows 10 2004(20H1)+ or Windows 11 is compatible with the Sphero Edu Windows app, provided the device has Bluetooth and mouse/keyboard/touchscreen support. Sphero recommends deploying the Microsoft Store release via Intune when possible, but the .msixbundle and .exe are also provided for schools that need to utilize other deployment solutions.
The Sphero Edu Windows app is not supported on Windows 11 SE. Windows 11 SE has very limited support for 3rd party native apps, and does not allow for the app installation solutions that are present in Windows 10 or 11.
Not all Windows devices have Bluetooth hardware and we cannot guarantee support with external Bluetooth dongles. We recommend using Sphero Edu on Windows devices that have dedicated Bluetooth hardware. Please confirm your Windows device supports Bluetooth LE 4.0 before using Sphero Edu.
Fire OS
The Amazon Fire OS version of Sphero Edu is accessible from the Amazon Appstore. We officially support Fire tablets that run Fire OS 7 +. Older Amazon Fire tablets may exhibit connection issues.
Some features are not available on Fire tablets due to the hardware or operating system. Here are some examples of features that are not available with the Fire OS version of Sphero Edu:
- Google Sign In (due to Google Services limitations)
- Bolt auto-aiming (due to magnetometer hardware limitations)
"Amazon Kids" and child accounts on Fire devices generally have Bluetooth disabled. On Fire OS 7 you can enable this by following these steps:
• Go to Settings > Profiles & Family Library
• Select your child's profile (or create one if needed)
• Select Location Based Settings
• Select Enable for this profile for the Location-Based Services & Bluetooth Low Energy
Note:
As of version 6.3.3, Sphero EDU uses companion pairing which is not supported with Child Accounts. Young users will need to use their parents' profiles to connect their robot to Sphero EDU until Amazon fixes this compatibility issue. If you experience difficulty in connecting to Sphero Robots after using a Child profile and swapping to a Parent profile, please check in both the App and Device Settings that Bluetooth and Location permissions are enabled.
Software Functionality
The table below details the general features that are available in the version of Sphero Edu you use.
| SOFTWARE FUNCTIONALITY | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature | Description | App Version | Notes | |||||
| iOS App | Android App | Amazon Fire OS App | Windows App | macOS App | Web App | |||
| Programming | Program robots with the Draw, Block, and Text canvases | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Bluetooth Connection | Connect to robots over Bluetooth | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Driving | Drive robots over Bluetooth | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Firmware Updates | Update the code that lives on a robot | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫* | ⚫ | ⚫* | *BOLT+ only |
| Sensor Data: Archive | Review archive sensor data after a program runs | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Sensor Data: Live | View live sensor data while a program runs | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |||
| Offline Mode | View and edit programs without the internet | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ||
| Support for accounts | Sign in with accounts or class codes | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Lessons, Lesson codes, and assignment support | Step by step instructions for learning coding and hands-on projects | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
Robot Compatibility
Not all Sphero robots are supported in the Sphero Edu. See the table below to determine if your robot works with the version of Sphero Edu you use.
| ROBOT CONNECTION COMPATIBILITY | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sphero Robot | Year Launched | App Version | |||||
| iOS | Android | Fire OS | Windows | macOS | Web | ||
| Sphero BOLT+ | 2024 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ |
| Sphero RVR+ | 2022 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ |
| Sphero RVR | 2019 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ |
| Sphero BOLT | 2018 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ |
| Sphero Mini | 2017 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ |
| Sphero SPRK+ | 2016 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Sphero SPRK | 2015 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |||
| Ollie | 2014 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Sphero 2.0 | 2013 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |||
| BB-8 | 2015 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| BB-9E | 2017 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| R2-D2 | 2017 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| R2-Q5 | 2017 | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | ⚫ | |
| Sphero Original | 2011 | ||||||
| Force Band | 2016 | ||||||
| Spider-Man | 2017 | ||||||
| Ultimate Lightning McQueen | 2017 | ||||||
| Specdrums | 2019 | ||||||
| indi™ | 2021 | ||||||
Supported Languages
All Sphero Edu apps support the following languages:
- English
- Arabic
- Dutch
- Spanish
- Mexican Spanish
- Finnish
- French
- German
- Hebrew
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Swedish
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Ukrainian