Getting Started with Bluetooth Low Energy

Chapter 9. iOS Programming

Apple was an early supporter of Bluetooth 4.0 and, as a result, there is a rich set of APIs and tools to support development of BLE devices and applications using iOS. The iOS device in question is usually an iPhone (iPhone 4S or later), but iOS also supports BLE on all relatively new iPads (iPad 3 or later, or any iPad mini) and the fifth generation iPod Touch devices.

BLE is also supported on later-generation Macs—including iMac (built after late 2012), MacBook Pro (2012 or later), MacBook Air (2011 or newer), and Mac Pro (2013 or later)—but this chapter will focus on iOS, specifically iOS 7 and later.

The types of BLE devices and applications most relevant to iOS programming fall into three main categories:

Peripheral devices with iOS apps

In this category, BLE peripheral devices and sensors are paired with corresponding iOS apps—for example, a bicycling power and cadence meter that uses the iPhone to display and record data.

iBeacon devices

The iBeacon is a broadcast-only device that uses BLE advertising (see Advertising and Scanning) to augment navigation indoors, where GPS signals and cell phone towers typically can’t penetrate, to provide location services to iOS devices (and also Android devices).

Peripheral devices with Apple Notification Center Service

Built into iOS, the Apple Notification Center displays alerts and notifications, such as incoming caller ID and updates from news services, on the screen of the iOS device. Using the ...