Building Bluetooth Low Energy applications involves handling numerous asynchronous operations: scanning, connecting, discovering services, reading/writing characteristics, and handling disconnections. The traditional callback-based approach can quickly become unwieldy, leading to what developers call “callback hell.” In this post, we’ll compare the callback approach with reactive programming using RxSwift and RxJava, and explore how reactive patterns can dramatically improve your BLE code.

Bluetooth has become the invisible thread connecting our devices, from smartwatches and health trackers to smart locks and industrial IoT systems. But with convenience comes risk: Bluetooth communication is wireless and easily intercepted, making it vulnerable to eavesdropping, unauthorized access, and replay attacks.
To defend against these threats, authentication and encryption are essential. In this post, I’ll introduce a robust Bluetooth security flow, explaining how authentication, key exchange, and encrypted transfer work together. We’ll also compare it to TLS/https since both share similar approach of layered security.

In modern times, Bluetooth plays a crucial role in connecting devices seamlessly. From fitness trackers to smart home devices, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) allows devices to communicate efficiently while reducing power consumption. However, with the rise of wireless communication, ensuring security has become a key concern. Two core concepts of Bluetooth security are Pairing and Bonding, which are often misunderstood in the context of BLE.

Bluetooth technology has become an integral part of modern mobile applications, enabling seamless wireless communication between devices. Whether it’s for connecting to a wireless headset, transferring files, or interacting with smart home devices, Bluetooth plays a crucial role in enhancing user experience.

For mobile developers, understanding how to implement Bluetooth functionality is essential. In this post, we’ll dive into a detailed comparison of the Bluetooth development frameworks for iOS and Android.

Ever thought about adding a Watch App to your product? Wondering how to make CoreBluetooth work on your Watch App? You’re in the right place! This tutorial is your go-to guide. In this post, we’ll take you step by step through the process of smoothly bringing in data from Bluetooth gadgets into your Apple Watch apps.

When it comes to mobile technology, iOS and Android are the two dominant operating systems that power the majority of smartphones and tablets worldwide. As developers, it is essential that we have the knowledge and tools to work with both platforms effectively. This is especially true when it comes to utilizing Bluetooth technology, which is a crucial component of many modern mobile applications.
In part 1 of this tutorial series, we created a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) framework that could be connected to the UI using React Native. However, this framework only worked on iOS, which meant that we needed to develop a separate solution for Android.
In part 2 of this tutorial series, we will be focusing on defining a new SDK for Android and linking it to the UI, just as we did on iOS. This will allow us to fully support both operating systems and provide a seamless Bluetooth experience for all users, regardless of their device of choice.

iOS developers are building applications that play both roles Peripheral and Central to exchange data with other copies apps. The data can be exchange a small of information via BLE packets or the signal strength indicator (RSSI) value from one to the others. However, keeping the app last forever in the foreground is impossible. Sooner or later, the app will enter to background mode by the user and finally will be suspended by the system depending on RAM available, power consumption and other factors. Thus, understanding the procedure of advertising and scanning on iOS devices helps you to build good applications that fit your expectations.
At the end of this tutorial, we will build a simple application that acts as both a scanner and an advertiser. When two applications find each other, they will write a log record for analysis. Depending on the results, we will find out how effective our application is using Core Bluetooth.
Let’s switch the gear!

In the previous post, I basically give you a quick look at iBeacon - A Bluetooth protocol built on top of BLE by Apple, and made a simple demo of how iBeacon can wake up an application after being terminated by the user. However, I did not mention other foundation concepts in Beacon, it also did not give you a deep look at the advantages and disadvantages of this powerful technology.
Today, I would like to introduce you to a good book giving a solid knowledge in Beacon field, especially iBeacon: Building Applications With iBeacon published by O’Reilly.
After reading this book, I ensure that you will get a good knowledge in iBeacon field and your mind will be more open to the next coming up ideas.
Let’s drive-in!

Welcome to the next part of the series of “How to deal with BLE in the background“.
In the previous part, I guided you how to keep your app alive as long as possible when your app enters to background mode by using State Preservation and Restoration technique supported by Apple. However, there are some usecases this technique can not handle, as described below (refer to Apple document: Conditions Under Which Bluetooth State Restoration Will Relaunch An App)

As you can see, there is a common case when users force quit the app from the multiple task view (Whether accidentally or intentionally), the Restoration technique can not awake your app. Let’s imagine that your app has a feature allows users to press a button on your BLE-connected devices to find where their phone is, but if your app is not running or is not able to wake up to handle the BLE signal sent from your devices, this feature would be useless.
In this post, I will show you a technique using iBeacon to deal with this case, which makes your app another chance to wake up despite it is terminated by users. Let’s drive-in!

Preface

When working with CoreBluetooth, have you ever concerned that how the BLE app on iOS can survive when it is terminated by the system? How can we bring it back to the background? Is there anything like a service on Android that can last forever? You can find the answer to all these questions in this post. Read on!