I am considering implementing in an app the bluetooth feature to read and display the battery life of a connected bluetooth peripheral (i.e. keyboard, headset...)
Is there an API or objects that can implement this in the iOS SDK or can someone tell me how this can be done, if it can be done ?
Yes, but more than likely you will need to be a member of the Made for iOS program. You can connect to a device that is Bluetooth Low Energy without being part of the MFi program but it only available for peripherals that support and the iOS device must be the iPhone 4S or the new iPad. Also reference this stackoverflow question.
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What I want to do is have my iPhone send advertising packets, just like a peripheral device would. Is this possible? Is there an app for that?
From the Core Bluetooth Programming Guide:
In this chapter, you learn how to use the Core Bluetooth framework to perform the most common types of Bluetooth low energy tasks from the peripheral side. The code-based examples that follow will assist you in developing your app to implement the peripheral role on your local device.
So: yes, it's possible.
There are probably apps that make your iPhone act like a peripheral, since the ability has been supported since iOS 6.0. But this is a site about programming, not app recommendations.
I see there is a "Bluetooth Sharing" section under iOS 7/8's Privacy settings:
I have a couple questions about this:
What framework is used to access this?
Is this iOS to iOS device only, or can it be iOS to Android, or iOS to some other peripheral?
Is there anything else required, other than that framework, such as GameCenter or HomeKit; to implement the framework from Question 1?
Would use of it require a Private API?
Thank you for your time!
Apps that specify one of the two Bluetooth background modes (Central or peripheral) will appear in this list.
Details on acting as a Bluetooth Low Energy peripheral or central are contained in the Core Bluetooth Programming Guide
Bluetooth Low Energy can be used between any compatible device, including iOS and Android.
I'd really like to start testing my iOS apps Bluetooth capabilities, but have run into a few problems:
I have a device made with a RN-42 module, but it's not the Apple version and I don't have the Apple authentication module at the moment (I ordered it, but shipping from China can take a while). I know what the messages will look like, but can't send them to my iPhone!
I can use the module with my Macbook, but not in the iOS simulator! Apple has taken down all of the documentation related to getting the iOS < 7.0 to use a separate bluetooth dongle, and my efforts have left my 6.1 simulator endlessly spinning on the bluetooth screen.
I'm new to using Bluetooth, so this may be a dumb question...
Is there a way of getting a bluetooth client device (I have a Mac, another iPhone, and an Android tab) to act as a server module that can send (and receive) Bluetooth data to my iPhone?
Client/Server as per developer.bluetooth.org
Thanks!
Not 100% sure your meaning of "server module". But in CoreBluetooth, you can use CBPeripheralManager to broadcast data to other iOS or Mac apps.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/CoreBluetooth/Reference/CBPeripheralManager_Class/Reference/CBPeripheralManager.html
If you're using standard Bluetooth (i.e. not Bluetooth LE or Bluetooth Smart or whatever you want to call it), you'll need to enroll in the MFI program or work with an MFI certified device (such as a Redpark cable) and use the External Accessories library provided by Apple. If you're using Bluetooth LE, you can use the Core Bluetooth library provided by Apple. If you fall into neither of those cases, sorry, you can't use Bluetooth on iOS.
I understand that the iOS App "PKPKT" is using BLE (Bluetooth Low Enery). But what I am curious about it is, is it purely using BLE only? Or does it switching between BLE and Classic Bluetooth?
I tested with a iPhone 5 and a iPhone 5s with both installed the app. I turned on bluetooth on both devices. And then i checked the "DEVICES" list to see if the other iPhone is paired with one another, I found that they are not. Until i launched the PKPKT on one of the device, and the i check the "DEVICE" list again, now they are paired and connected. So, i'm thinking is this pairing done by the BLE pairing? Meaning one of "Just works", "Out of Band", or "Passkey entry" methods.
There is also a "Chat" functionality in that app. This make me curious if the chatting function using BLE or Classic Bluetooth?
So my question is actually "Is switching between BLE and Classic bluetooth possible?". This is part of the study on this BLE technology. Hopefully someone could help me and other newbie on this new technology.
Thanks in advance!
I wrote PKPKT. I only use BLE. No classic. iBeacon is cool but doesn't have the background scanning needed to discover other players. I use game center, but only for scores, no sessions. It's optional in the app to enable game center (those banners can be distracting!)
The chat is also over BLE.
Because the connections are not encrypted, you don't need to manually pair the devices, and "just works"
I think you might find this link helpful. It implements something that looks to be a simpler version of PKPKT. I believe the app uses a combination of GameKit/iBeacon. The app requires iOS7.0+ and states, "PKPKT does the hard work of finding other players by detecting them using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) in the background." iBeacon would be the most battery-efficient way of accomplishing this and is a new feature in iOS 7. There is a wealth of information online(particularly on SO) about peer to peer bluetooth gaming using GameKit, if you are interested.
We can't say for sure unless the developer lets us know. If one were to attempt to recreate the application, GameKit and iBeacon would be the technologies that I believe most would recommend.
You might find this project helpful as an overview of how to use Bluetooth LE to communicate between two devices. You don't need to pair the devices, and unlike iBeacons, it works when the app is in the background.
SimpleShare - Easy Proximity-based Sharing for iOS
You can use the delegate methods of the SimpleShare project to easily share arrays of strings between nearby users running your app, such as user IDs, which you could then use to get more info, photos, etc, about that user from a web service.
I am working on building or using an existing bluetooth HID device (something like this http://www.icontrolpad.com) and to get my iOS device to read the data coming from it. So i have some questions regarding this:-
Is it possible at all to do this, considering that the Bluetooth stack is not available on non jail broken devices.
Do i need to register with apples Mfi program? If i don't need to, what are the alternatives?
If i do register with Apple's Mfi program will i get access frameworks that will allow me to read data off the Bluetooth stack.
Considering that there will be a custom application sitting on the iOS device that needs to communicate with the HW im building, what are the implications w.r.t the approval of the app from Apple's side?
Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated!
Core Bluetooth framework is available for Bluetooth Low Energy devices on iOS 5, no MFi membership is required.
With Made for iPhone, you basically get a serial pipe to your device using the ExternalAccesory Framework (in fact, it IS using the serial port profile plus some authentication). So you while you cannot use an actual HID device, you could send your data over.