So you
might have heard of this new iBeacon before but, What is Apple iBeacon? Apple
latest software update iOS 7 which was announced at WWDC in June for iPhones and iPad’s has
included a new technology called iBeacon which is essentially a alternative to
NFC (Near field communication) which is what most Android devices use.
What is iBeacon?
iBeacon
is software developed by Apple included into iOS 7 (the latest operation system
for the iPhone and iPad) that will allow
apps to recognise when an iPhone is near a small wireless sensor called a
beacon, meaning, it could detect the location of the iPhone with incredible
accuracy. Just so you get the bigger picture, here is a little example: You
walk into your kitchen and you have just set up iBeacon, you could set it up to
make a message display on your brand new golden iPhone 5S saying “Don’t forget
to turn the furnace off!” the moment you stand next to the furnace or when
leaving the kitchen. This is achieved with the small beacons being installed
into the area and with Bluetooth 4.0.
Why are stores setting up
iBeacon?
Several
large brands are setting up iBeacon in their store to allow you to get
notifications on your phone whenever there is something interesting to let you
know, for example, you walk into a Apple store and the moment you start looking
and using the brand new iPad mini 2 you could get a
pop-up with a discount code of -20% for precisely the iPad Mini 2, because it
can tell you are standing infront of it. This images should help you get a
better idea on how it works
In the
image above it shows how you could walk into a store (think about your local
supermarket), choose a product and get charged from your phone when you walk
out, without having to wait in line. Which also means that yes, it can be used
to make payments or money transactions.
Can i setup iBeacon in my
house?
No, at
least for now. iBeacon is meant for small to large retail stores and
businesses, museums etc. but not for personal use. Maybe in a near future we
could see it being implemented into Apple’s Airprot Extreme. However, iBeacon
is compatible with the Apple TV,
allowing you to set up Apple’s streaming device by touching your iPhone with
the Apple TV. (The Apple TV ranked third in our Top 3 digital
streaming devices)
NFC or iBeacon, which is
the difference and which is best?
Both
of these new innovating technologies have their advantages and disadvantages.
The reason why iBeacon stands out is because it has a incredible range to it,
while NFC is limited to just 20cm with the optimal distance being 4cm, iBeacon
can reach up to 50 meters distance. Another advantage is the fact that for
iBeacon all that is required is Bluetooth 4.0 (which is something most
smartphones these days have) making it compatible with a huge variety of
phones, not just Apple’s own
iPhone while with NFC you need a NFC chip, which is something
not all smartphones have, infact, most of them don’t, neither do Apple’s
iPhone’s or iPads. Also, the range of iBeacon is limited by the capabilities of
Bluetooth 4.0, if in the future a better bluetooth would be released with more
range, this means that the range of iBeacon would increase.
What apps make use of
iBeacon and how can i use it myself?
Since
iBeacon is really new, there aren’t many apps yet making full advantage of some
of the amazing features iBeacon has to offer, as of now the only true app
making full use of iBeacon is the MLB app (Mayor league of Baseball) which is demonstrated
in this video from CNET bellow. As of now the only place where you can
experience iBeacon in action a 100% sure if a official Apple store.
Source: AmongTech
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