iPhone 4S Supports Bluetooth 4: So What?

Yes, the iPhone 4S is Bluetooth Smart Ready, but what exactly does that mean? It may be the first smartphone to support the new Bluetooth 4 wireless standard, however many consumers are in the dark about its improvements and benefits. So how will the addition of the latest Bluetooth technology really affect prospective iPhone 4S buyers and owners of the device?

Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready branding

The upgraded Bluetooth was one of the top iPhone 4S surprises not mentioned at the Apple keynote presentation. One of the reasons it was left on the back burner could be the fact that peripherals using the new standard with iPhone 4S don't yet exist. Although this is an area where future development looks bright, the technology hasn't hit prime time.

In the near future however, there will be numerous low-powered Bluetooth Smart accessories that will be capable of connecting to the iPhone 4S. Thanks to its power saving ways, the new Bluetooth technology makes it possible for incredibly small, low-power products (Bluetooth Smart) to broadcast information to Bluetooth Smart Ready devices like the iPhone 4S. This will not affect the capabilities of the iPhone 4S to connect to normal-power mode Bluetooth devices like current wireless headsets and the like.

Bluetooth Smart devices will only broadcast information using the low-power radio mode, installed in things like watches, window security sensors, key fobs, heart rate monitors and more. The iPhone 4S is Smart Ready because it will be able to read and interpret information from these devices with the right apps while keeping its backward compatibility with standard normal-power Bluetooth accessories. The iPhone 4S will also update to the latest Bluetooth 4 standards on the fly, while Bluetooth Smart accessories will have fixed firmware.

iPhone 4S owners can look forward to interacting with a variety of small, unobtrusive devices installed around the house and workplace for a variety of purposes. All of these Bluetooth 4 products will communicate seamlessly with the iPhone 4S as they pass along wireless data in Bluetooth Smart mode.