Apple Insider
Our industry expert rounds-up the biggest Apple corporate stories circulating this month
Better Bluetooth looms
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) will introduce an upgraded Bluetooth standard next year, introducing longer range and faster speeds. The standards body promises the range of Bluetooth smart devices will increase up to four times alongside a 100% increase in speed. Perhaps more interesting, the new standard will support mesh networking. This is useful for so-called Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as those supported by HomeKit.
This would enable manufacturers to develop solutions that can be managed by a compatible device and will not require a dedicated hub. “Mesh networking will enable Bluetooth devices to connect together in networks that can cover an entire building or home, opening up home and industrial automation applications”, the SIG said in a press release. “Bluetooth has been adopted by countless developers and manufacturers as their connectivity solution of choice for the IoT”. said Mark Powell, Executive Director of the Bluetooth SIG.
Apple Watch calls time on Switzerland
Swiss watch exports suffered their biggest decline in six years last October when shipments fell 12%. Apple Watch and smartwatches from other manufacturers have impacted sales of lowend timepieces. “Traditional watch makers are coming under pressure,” said CCS Insights analyst, Ben Woods. “It would be naive to think that the Apple Watch has not impacted the traditional market in some form.”
Wi-Fi to Li-Fi?
Li-Fi could replace Wi-Fi in the future, following a successful pilot test that proved the technology can achieve data send speeds of up to 1GB/sec, or 100 times faster than Wi-Fi.
The technology, which uses light to beam information through the air, was developed in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh in 2011. The super-fast wireless transmission standard works in a similar way to optical cable, but resolves the data loss challenges you find when simply trying to beam light, rather than directing it through a cable. The technology has been trialled by airlines, which want to boost in-flight connectivity.