There’s been a fair deal of criticism towards Apple surrounding the announcement of the iPhone 4S, including allegations that the overdue inclusion of a dual-core processor and eight-megapixel camera amount to Apple playing “catch-up” with Android. Whatever your feelings on the subject, there’s at least one aspect of the iPhone 4S’s hardware that’s ahead of the curve even for an Android phone: support for Bluetooth 4.0.

The iPhone 4S will, in fact, be the first smartphone released to be compatible with the updated standard. So what’s Bluetooth 4.0 going to bring to wireless accessories that’s been missing thus far? The big difference is support for new low-power communication modes. The power usage on the smartphone side of things isn’t what’s at issue here, but that of the gadgets you’ll use it with. Accessories supporting Bluetooth 4.0 should be able to last for extended periods of time between replacing their batteries – think less Bluetooth headset and more wireless sensor, like a shoe-based pedometer.

According to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Bluetooth 4.0 should be everywhere by this time next year. If you want to be among the first to get a crack at it, you should look into the iPhone 4S when it arrives next week.

Source: Bluetooth SIG

Via: TiPb