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AltBeacon / spec

AltBeacon Technical Specification
http://altbeacon.org
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Won't work without OS integration #2

Open shotgunwilly opened 10 years ago

shotgunwilly commented 10 years ago

While having an open standard would be great, the true brilliance of iBeacon is the integration into the OS. Maybe if you can get Android to integrate this will have a chance, but I'm afraid that's the only way.

notthetup commented 10 years ago

If this is just based on the BLE technology, could AltBeacon not be released as a framework which uses the BLE stack for OS integration?

MegatronCupcakes commented 10 years ago

The problem is and always will-be Apple. Apple is unlikely to embrace a competing standard (I can't claim to understand their current position), and while an AltBeacon framework for iOS is possible, it would not enjoy the same sort of privileges iBeacon enjoys, meaning no background monitoring. Any iOS implementation would be hamstrung.

AltBeacon could work, though, if beacon makers started offering beacons that operated on both standards simultaneously. Until then, I won't be asking my customers to implement two beacons per space, which means I'm stuck with making iBeacon work on Android while hopefully avoiding heat from Cupertino.

notthetup commented 10 years ago

I've not looked at iOS iBeacon API for a while, but does iOS support background monitoring of standard BLE connections? Could the AltBeacon framework ride on top of that?

MegatronCupcakes commented 10 years ago

after re-reading the Core Bluetooth Programming Guide (it's been a while) I suppose it'd be possible to support AltBeacon background monitoring. Not sure why I was convinced otherwise. I'd love to see it happen :-)

shotgunwilly commented 10 years ago

While you can background some Bluetooth tasks, I don't think you have enough pieces to create a solid beacon solution. The main feature I think is missing is the ability to launch applications that are not running (foreground or background) or have been evicted. Apple location services will not only work on background apps, they will trigger and launch apps that aren't running. Here's the link for the Core BT Guide that @MegatronCupcakes referred to: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/NetworkingInternetWeb/Conceptual/CoreBluetooth_concepts/AboutCoreBluetooth/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40013257-CH1-SW1

I'm also not sure you can trigger the background app when in proximity of a non-i beacon.

DataRules commented 10 years ago

Apple's 'ecosystem' is wonderful. If Wonderful to you means being stuck in a closed systems and being told what you can and cannot do. When Apple first announced this plan to cloak and hide MAC addresses on its devices, the move was not for 'user privacy' as they touted but for 'Apple market control.' Thanks to the AltBeacon Team and initiative.
This is fantastic and how about we let the markets and the technologies decide how proximity marketing and thin-client sensing and engagement are done, not one company from Cupertino...