Your Web News in One Place

Help Webnuz

Referal links:

Sign up for GreenGeeks web hosting
September 26, 2013 01:43 am GMT

Apple Uses Bluetooth LE To Enable Apple TV Touch To Set Up' Via iOS 7 Devices

HT5900--ios_remember_password-001-enApple is leveraging the Bluetooth LE technology that it has been building into every iPhone since the iPhone 4S to enable automatic setup of an Apple TV 3G. Just touch a device running iOS 7 to a newer Apple set-top box to have it automatically set up WiFi networks, region settings and Apple Store accounts. This essentially means as far as we can tell that Apple is using technology similar to the kind it describes as ‘iBeacon‘, a Bluetooth LE device that broadcasts a data payload to any compatible BT device in the area. This can enable complex interaction without having to be on the same WiFi network or even paired with a target device. But it also may use the iPod Accessory Protocol, also supported by BLE. The ‘one touch’ setup was discovered by TUAW reader Aaron G and noted in an article earlier today. The Apple help document related to the new setup feature gives us some clues that point to BlueTooth LE being the technology driving the interaction. A technology that Apple uses in its iBeacon protocol. From what we understand, this isnot turning the Apple TV intoaniBeacon in Apple’s consumer sense of the word, but it uses similar technology. To make it work, you enable Bluetooth on your iPhone 4S, iPad 3G, iPad mini or iPod touch 5G and newer. Then, you tap it to an Apple TV 3G that’s sitting on the setup screen. Your devices will enter an out-of-band pairing and you’ll be prompted to enter your Apple ID on your iOS device. You can then choose to have it remember that data for purchases on your Apple TV if you wish. The Apple TV will then auto-configure itself, bypassing the super awkward process of entering your Apple ID and WiFi information using Apple’s stick of gum remote. The Apple TV has to be on version 6.0 or later and iOS devices on 7.0 or later. The fact that the help doc tells you that you must turn on Bluetooth is a dead giveaway that this is based on the tech that Apple has been building into its devices for longer than it has needed it. Apple built support for Bluetooth LE into its devices for a while and iBeacon support into the latest iOS and Apple TV software. We tried out the new setup method and it worked as advertised. We

Original Link: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UE_OD4us6Dw/

Share this article:    Share on Facebook
View Full Article

Techcrunch

TechCrunch is a leading technology blog, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

More About this Source Visit Techcrunch