Hi there,
that “80% of devices use ESP” claim floats around a lot in forums, but it’s a misleading generalization.
Let’s unpack it properly:
Well that’s ONLY true-ish in certain device categories. The recent IOT explosion has it fast,cheap & many. YMMV 
Without ROSE colored glasses, 
Real Market Data (2023–2024)
- Nordic Semiconductor:
- ~43% of all BLE product certifications
- Ships 2 million BLE SoCs per day
- Espressif:
- Ships ~40 million chips per quarter (including Wi-Fi focused chips like ESP32, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3)
- Strong presence in Wi-Fi MCU space, not BLE
Reality Check Across Use Cases
| Use Case | Who Dominates? |
|---|---|
| BLE-only wearables/sensors |  Nordic (nRF) |
| Wi-Fi-only smart plugs/toys | Espressif (ESP8266/ESP32) |
| Enterprise BLE devices | Nordic / Dialog / TI |
| Bluetooth LE Audio / LR / AoA | Nordic (nRF5340, nRF54 series) |
| Industrial/medical BLE | Nordic / Silicon Labs / TI |
If BLE is your primary focus (e.g., secure, power-efficient, reliable BLE device), Nordic is unmatched.
If you need Wi-Fi with light BLE or BLE is secondary (e.g., config/setup), ESP32 works, but not as refined.
| Feature | Nordic (nRF) | Espressif (ESP32) |
|---|---|---|
| BLE Stack | Certified, stable | Open-source, unstable under stress |
| Power Consumption | Ultra low-power | Higher, not BLE-optimized |
| BLE Range/Performance | Long Range, Coded PHY | Moderate |
| WiFi + BLE Coexistence | Yes (nRF5340 + nRF7002) | Yes (ESP32 series) |
| Audio (LE Audio) | Ready (nRF5340) | Not yet supported |
| Best Use Case | BLE peripherals, IoT tags, wearables | Smart home hubs, displays, Wi-Fi apps |
Bottom Line
The “80% ESP” stat is true only in certain product categories (e.g. Wi-Fi-based smart home gadgets, low-cost IoT).
But in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Nordic owns the top spot — both in certified product count and industrial adoption.
Having been in both FABs there is no doubt in my mind where the better choice is. Nordic has always had a Technology Road map, always led. Espressif not so much… I guess one could say the iterations of the same thing, slightly reworked and NOT necessarily better than the predecessor might count? it’s all about to be moot IMO.
the 54 Series is going to be even better than anything in the space. Also after that the SOC planned for more MML and LLM capabilities and even more Memory of LOCAL LLM … hang on to your HAT 
HTH
GL 
PJ 