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Correct me if I'm wrong but this would require the user to have bluetooth on correct? My concern is that most users have bluetooth off as it is notorious for be

Correct me if I'm wrong but this would require the user to have bluetooth on correct? My concern is that most users have bluetooth off as it is notorious for being a drain on battery power, although it has improved dramatically. I'm also thinking about the typical user case scenario where it would require for me to go to settings->bluetooth-> and connect. Seems like too much of a hassle for the average person, or does iBeacon in iOS 7 solve this issue by not having to "connect"?

jimiasty 13y ago
Daniel, I think you are confusing old Bluetooth we used for headsets or car audio and the new Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy protocol. It is new, completely redesigned protocol that is supported by Apple devices from iPhone 4S and is more similar to Zigbee than Bluetooth. Users still need to turn it on, but have measured in retail stores that most of "normal" people (not geeks) do not turn it off. Please also note the Bluetooth Low Energy is used and promoted by Apple in features like AirDrop or to communicate with Apple TV. Bluetooth Low Energy different than old Bluetooth does not require pairing and connecting. You just walk-in to the store, e.g. IKEA and approach sofa you like the most and you see the picture of the sofa on your screen. Blueooth SIG (organization behind Bluetooth standard) projects strong growth in the number of devices that support BLE: http://blog.bluetooth.com/os-season-what-it-means-to-you/ http://blog.bluetooth.com/os-season-what-it-means-to-you/