Apple Rolls Out Its iBeacon Specification
by Brent Dirks
February 25, 2014
Under the current Made for iPhone program, manufacturers can now attach the iBeacon name to their products if they meet certain criteria dictated by Apple. The news of the iBeacon specification comes from beekn.net.
Manufacturers need to sign an NDA and apply to the program to use the iBeacon name.
While the site hadn’t directly seen the specs, beacons that use the name should conform to the following:
Interestingly, there is no restriction that makes an iBeacon incompatible with Android devices. So in reality, any Bluetooth 4.0 device that carries the iBeacon moniker is allowed to use the trademark and works well with iOS devices. After being officially introduced last fall, the number of iBeacon installations continue to rise. The technology is used at all 254 Apple Stores in the United States and at 20 Major League Baseball parks. ShopKick is also launching its iBeacon technology at 100 America Eagle Outfitters locations across the U.S. For other news today, see: Apple Officially Releases OS X 10.9.2, Fixes SSL Exploit, Don't Expect Apple To Release A New iPhone This Summer, and How Does The Samsung Galaxy S5 Compare To Apple's iPhone 5s?
- They broadcast Bluetooth LE ‘signals’ in a way that conforms to the Apple standard for what those signals should contain
- They have use of the iBeacon trademark
