Flipper Zero 1.0 firmware update supercharges the hacking handheld

One of our favorite hacking gadgets, the Flipper Zero, received its first major firmware update today. It includes a bunch of features the developers have been working on stabilizing for the last three years, including a big battery life boost that technically arrived with a previous update. While many of the features aren’t technically new, the entire package should make this gadget feel like a supercharged version of its former self.

One of the most notable updates since launch solves one of the developers’ biggest problems: the device’s internal flash memory originally limited how many features they could add. In the past, new features were built into the firmware itself, but they eventually exceeded what the memory could handle. Last year, the device added an app store and let you run new apps from the microSD card instead.

JavaScript is now supported, so coding your own apps could be easier. The NFC subsystem has been rewritten from the ground up, supports more card types, and can read cards faster. Transferring data via Bluetooth with Android devices is also faster, and the speed of firmware updates has increased by 40 percent, according to the developers.

The new firmware also includes more IR protocols, so if you already use the Flipper Zero as a universal remote control, you can now use it with more TVs, ACs, audio systems, and projectors. If you need a longer transmission range, the Flipper Zero supports external infrared modules, too. Here’s an explainer video:

You can also use the Flipper Zero to listen to analog walkie-talkies, and the developers say its sub-GHz radio now supports 89 different radio protocols in all. If the built-in antenna isn’t sensitive enough, you can now also connect it to an external sub-GHz module to get a better one.