How ubiquitous is (or isn't!) this? Is there a general
(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
before which it is a rarity?
How ubiquitous is (or isn't!) this? Is there a general
(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
before which it is a rarity?
What's a BLE?
On Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:16:07 -0700, Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
How ubiquitous is (or isn't!) this? Is there a general
(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
before which it is a rarity?
What's a BLE?
Bluetooth Low Energy, basically low-speed low power wireless for small do-thats
that run on batteries, like fitness trackers, heart rate monitors
any smart phone last ~12 years have it
On 7/24/2026 4:42 PM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
Bluetooth Low Energy, basically low-speed low power wireless for small
do-thats that run on batteries, like fitness trackers, heart rate
monitors
any smart phone last ~12 years have it
The *API* has been in place.˙ But, it's not a first class service
like BT.˙ You'd have to find and install an app to make use
of it -- even if you were surrounded by BLE devices.
I don't think the user base is ready for this to the same
extent they are BT earbuds, etc.˙ Else, it would be prominently
noted in the "factory installed" apps.
Imagine requiring a user to install an app to use his BT earbuds;
how ubiquitous would they be, in that case (the bar to entry is too high)
On 7/25/26 03:08, Don Y wrote:
On 7/24/2026 4:42 PM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
Bluetooth Low Energy, basically low-speed low power wireless for small do- >>> thats that run on batteries, like fitness trackers, heart rate monitors
any smart phone last ~12 years have it
The *API* has been in place.˙ But, it's not a first class service
like BT.˙ You'd have to find and install an app to make use
of it -- even if you were surrounded by BLE devices.
I don't think the user base is ready for this to the same
extent they are BT earbuds, etc.˙ Else, it would be prominently
noted in the "factory installed" apps.
Imagine requiring a user to install an app to use his BT earbuds;
how ubiquitous would they be, in that case (the bar to entry is too high)
best give up then
(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
before which it is a rarity?
Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:As I said elsewhere, support is present in the kernel.
>(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
>before which it is a rarity?
From Android 4.3 (API 18) it is present.
On 7/24/2026 9:04 PM, olaf wrote:
Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:As I said elsewhere, support is present in the kernel.
˙ >(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
˙ >before which it is a rarity?
˙From Android 4.3 (API 18) it is present.
But, have any phones been shipped with an app that
exposes it -- as "data", SMS, WiFi and BT are in most
phones?
On 25/07/2026 07:31, Don Y wrote:So, every IoT device (using BLE) near your phone is *visible* in
On 7/24/2026 9:04 PM, olaf wrote:
Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:As I said elsewhere, support is present in the kernel.
˙ >(temporal) cutoff point where its support is "expected"
˙ >before which it is a rarity?
˙From Android 4.3 (API 18) it is present.
But, have any phones been shipped with an app that
exposes it -- as "data", SMS, WiFi and BT are in most
phones?
It is just part of Bluetooth.˙ No need to do anything
special at all.
So, every IoT device (using BLE) near your phone is *visible* in
the BT settings? I can dig up a 10 year old phone and see
all of these??
Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
>So, every IoT device (using BLE) near your phone is *visible* in
>the BT settings? I can dig up a 10 year old phone and see
>all of these??
What does "see" mean in your contect?
I wrote BLE Apps than can work
on old Android 4.3 and on new phones. Okay, on new mobiles there opens
some windows and ask me to contact the programmer for a news version,
but I can ignore it and it still works.
And I also think a BLE device can try to hide, so is only visible forAs is classic BT. I (as the user) don't have to know that I'm looking
the app of the device. .-)
This gives you an overview:
https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/guides/short-range-guides/b/bluetooth-low-energy/posts/ble-characteristics-a-beginners-tutorial
BLE is not a serial port or something like this. It is much more
complicated.
Can you see my BLE garage door opener?˙ Or, do you first have to
install "my app" that LOOKS for it?
On 7/25/26 11:00, Don Y wrote:
Can you see my BLE garage door opener?˙ Or, do you first have to
install "my app" that LOOKS for it?
what would be the point? if you don't have the app you can't use it
BLE keyboard/mouse and such recognized universal devices will show up
On 7/25/2026 4:49 AM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
On 7/25/26 11:00, Don Y wrote:
Can you see my BLE garage door opener?˙ Or, do you first have to
install "my app" that LOOKS for it?
what would be the point? if you don't have the app you can't use it
BLE keyboard/mouse and such recognized universal devices will show up
"What would be the point?>˙ If you can't see the device, you
don't need the app?"
On 7/25/26 13:52, Don Y wrote:
On 7/25/2026 4:49 AM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
On 7/25/26 11:00, Don Y wrote:
Can you see my BLE garage door opener?˙ Or, do you first have to
install "my app" that LOOKS for it?
what would be the point? if you don't have the app you can't use it
BLE keyboard/mouse and such recognized universal devices will show up
"What would be the point?>˙ If you can't see the device, you
don't need the app?"
if you don't have the device in front to of you you wouldn't know what to look
for and you wouldn't need the app because you couldn't do anything with it anyway
On 7/25/2026 10:09 AM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
On 7/25/26 13:52, Don Y wrote:
On 7/25/2026 4:49 AM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
On 7/25/26 11:00, Don Y wrote:
Can you see my BLE garage door opener?˙ Or, do you first have to
install "my app" that LOOKS for it?
what would be the point? if you don't have the app you can't use it
BLE keyboard/mouse and such recognized universal devices will show up
"What would be the point?>˙ If you can't see the device, you
don't need the app?"
if you don't have the device in front to of you you wouldn't know what
to look for and you wouldn't need the app because you couldn't do
anything with it anyway
You've got yourself trapped inside the box!˙ <frown>
BLE isn't just "an invisible 30 ft cord" used to connect "you"
to "some THING".
You can use them to indicate proximity to a specific location.
Or, the availability of a particular service.
E.g., I could set a device in front of each bathroom in an airport, identifying itself as "BATHROOM" and you would know you were within
30 ft of a bathroom whenever you saw a service bearing that name.
Or, a device advertising itself as "Text HOWDY for latest sale items"
And, you wouldn't have to power them from the mains OR replace
batteries with any frequency.
On 7/25/26 22:09, Don Y wrote:
On 7/25/2026 10:09 AM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
On 7/25/26 13:52, Don Y wrote:
On 7/25/2026 4:49 AM, Lasse Langwadt wrote:
On 7/25/26 11:00, Don Y wrote:"What would be the point?>˙ If you can't see the device, you
Can you see my BLE garage door opener?˙ Or, do you first have to
install "my app" that LOOKS for it?
what would be the point? if you don't have the app you can't use it
BLE keyboard/mouse and such recognized universal devices will show up >>>>
don't need the app?"
if you don't have the device in front to of you you wouldn't know what to >>> look for and you wouldn't need the app because you couldn't do anything with
it anyway
You've got yourself trapped inside the box!˙ <frown>
no, but I know how it usually goes here. You ask a question and for every answer you get you invent a new reason why that's wrong
BLE isn't just "an invisible 30 ft cord" used to connect "you"
to "some THING".
You can use them to indicate proximity to a specific location.
Or, the availability of a particular service.
E.g., I could set a device in front of each bathroom in an airport,
identifying itself as "BATHROOM" and you would know you were within
30 ft of a bathroom whenever you saw a service bearing that name.
Or, a device advertising itself as "Text HOWDY for latest sale items"
And, you wouldn't have to power them from the mains OR replace
batteries with any frequency.
so if you want that you install an app for that
why anyone in their right mind want a phone to by default have something thatYou obviously would have controls -- just like your phone doesn't
notifies of every random BLE device you pass, and getting spammed with annoying
ads on top of that˙ ?
And, you keep ALL of these updated so they are usable when you
next might need them.
Or, you access the *up-to-date* web page for each of these
WHILE you need said access and your phone is unburdened by
them once you close the browser.
<https://webbluetoothcg.github.io/web-bluetooth/scanning.html>
why anyone in their right mind want a phone to by default have something thatYou obviously would have controls -- just like your phone doesn't
notifies of every random BLE device you pass, and getting spammed with annoying
ads on top of that˙ ?
notify you of every WiFi AP that you pass.
Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
And, you keep ALL of these updated so they are usable when you
next might need them.
Or, you access the *up-to-date* web page for each of these
WHILE you need said access and your phone is unburdened by
them once you close the browser.
<https://webbluetoothcg.github.io/web-bluetooth/scanning.html>
why anyone in their right mind want a phone to by default have something thatYou obviously would have controls -- just like your phone doesn't
notifies of every random BLE device you pass, and getting spammed with annoying
ads on top of that˙ ?
notify you of every WiFi AP that you pass.
I don't know a whole lot about BLE but AFAIK it provides *communication* but doesn't define the *semantic meaning* in the way you want.
In other words your garage door opener has two messages, 'open' and 'close'. BLE lets you send message A or message B, but it doesn't define the meaning that says 'you send message A to open the door' and 'message B means close'. Without that, you can't construct a UI with buttons for open and close.
Zigbee, to use another example, does provide enough meaning that you can
make those open and close buttons from a generic UI without needing to run code from the manufacturer. I don't think BLE does. You have make a device expect a HID profile (ie a keyboard) and maybe decide that 'Enter' means
open and 'Delete' means close or something, but again you need manufacturer code to make that work (or somebody else has reverse engineered that).
There are various BLE profiles like fitness and audio where these things
have been specified and they can be interpreted by generic code, but if you don't map to one of those profiles then generic support isn't possible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profilesYes, but you can always create a custom profile -- for Classic or LE.
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