Bluetooth devices to gain notification support in iOS 7 & Mavericks with Apple's new APIs

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple's next versions of iOS and OS X will offer advanced integration with Bluetooth accessories, including access to Notification Center, as well as preservation and restoration services.

iphone 4s
Devices like the Pebble smart watch will gain increased capabilities with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks.


Apple on Thursday revealed that iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks will grant developers the ability to have applications send data to connected Bluetooth devices without needing to have the application open and running. This will improve the capabilities of Bluetooth Smart products, negating the need for user intervention in order for devices and apps to function as intended.

The new device capabilities are possible now thanks to Apple granting access to the Notification Center and the Preservation and Restoration services. The development will likely be a boon for devices like the Pebble smart watch and the FitBit Flex, as well as other Bluetooth-enabled accessories.

The State Preservation and Restoration service determines why an app was terminated and will allow iOS 7 to continue running the app's features until it is relaunched or needs relaunching.

Speaking on the matter, Bluetooth SIG CMO Suke Jawanda said he is optimistic regarding its impact on the connected accessory industry.

"The ultimate winner here is the consumer," he said in a statement, "whose Bluetooth Smart products for Apple will 'just work.' By investing in deep Bluetooth integration, Apple made it much easier for its developers to create great Bluetooth Smart products to connect with Apple devices."

Jawanda believes the increased API access will allow developers to experiment and innovate without worrying about "how to implement the plumbing of the code."

Apple has been building Bluetooth Smart capabilities into most of its products since the introduction of the iPhone 4S in 2011.This year will likely see about 250 million Bluetooth Smart devices shipping worldwide, and shipments will approach one billion by 2016.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Pebble are over the moon: until Apple kills them with iWatch.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    r00fusr00fus Posts: 245member
    Has any one tested their Pebble with iOS7? I'd love to see some better integration
  • Reply 3 of 9
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    I can where this could extend other devices to integrate with the iPhone, iPad, etc.

    For example, I would like to have a GPS device like one of the handheld Garmin units be able to download location data via Bluetooth to an app or apps on my iPhone (Apple Maps, Strava, MotionX-GPS, etc.)
  • Reply 4 of 9
    crossladcrosslad Posts: 527member
    I would just like Bluetooth that let's me send a file from my iPhone to my mac and that let's me connect a keyboard and mouse at the same time to my iPad.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    crosslad wrote: »
    I would just like Bluetooth that let's me send a file from my iPhone to my mac and that let's me connect a keyboard and mouse at the same time to my iPad.

    Sounds like your are talking about Airdrop. Between iOS 7 and Mavericks you can use wifi or Bluetooth to accomplish the above.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    macbook promacbook pro Posts: 1,605member
    Apple has really become a leader in security in the last two years.

    2048 bit TLS/SSL encryption for APNS
    Find My iPhone
    Remote Erase
    AuthenTec acquisiion
    Bluetooth 4.0
    Two-factor authentication
    Integrated Bar code scanning
    Bluetooth Notifications
    iCloud Keychain using 256-bit AES encryption with a Password generator
    Enterprise Single Sign on
    Per App VPN




    Does this suggest Apple may be on the verge of supporting mobile payments?
  • Reply 7 of 9
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member


    It'll come, and most probably without NFC.

  • Reply 8 of 9


    supporting mobile payments would be great, my dad now lives in Europe and only carries his drivers license and a donor card and he using his Android phone something for payments.


     


    this thing on kickstarter looks promising that uses BT 4.0 for music controls and alerts, probably just the start of smart toys to flood the market soon http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shehbaz/genii-the-only-bluetooth-enabled-case-for-the-ipho

  • Reply 9 of 9
    curtis hannahcurtis hannah Posts: 1,833member
    I am wondering will these features support iPod nano?
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