Bluetooth is a standard wire-replacement communications protocol primarily designed for low-power consumption.

Bluetooth Smart technology is primed to overcome NFC: More devices on the market today have Bluetooth 4.0 capability than they do NFC chips.

Bluetooth low energy (LE) (also called Bluetooth Smart or Version 4.0+ of the Bluetooth specification) is the power- and application-friendly version of Bluetooth that was built for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Bluetooth with its low energy functionality powers the Internet of Your Things. You wake up and go for a run with a heart rate monitor that communicates with your smartwatch, then listen to music through your shower head. You unlock your doors, set the temperature, turn on the lights, and control your TV using the smartphone or tablet you already own. All these wirelessly connected devices make your life richer through the convenience, empowerment, and freedom of Bluetooth technology.

Bluetooth makes it easy for developers and OEMs to create innovative new products that communicate with the billions of Bluetooth enabled devices already in the market. Bluetooth with low energy is inexpensive and developer-friendly, with a flexible development architecture that means you’re only limited by your imagination.

Key features of Bluetooth with low energy include:

• Industry-standard wireless protocol that allows for multi-vendor interoperability
• Ultra-low peak, average and idle mode power consumption that gives the ability to run for month(s) on standard coin-cell batteries
• Standardized application development architecture that leads to low development and operational costs
• Allows for some of the tightest security in the industry with 128-bit AES data encryption