Michal Ždanský Part of iOS 7 is support for iBeacon technology, which can detect the distance of the device from it using a special transmitter and possibly transmit certain data, similar to NFC, but over a greater distance. Compared to GPS solutions, it has the advantage that it works without problems even in closed spaces. We mentioned iBeacon and its use several times, now this technology is finally appearing in practice and, in addition to Apple itself, it is used by, for example, a network of British cafes or sports stadiums...
The American Baseball League was the first to announce the use of iBeacon MLB, which wants to use the technology within the application MLB.com At the Ballpark. The iBeacon transmitters should be placed in the stadiums and would work directly with the application, so visitors could receive certain information at specific places or possible notifications activated through the iBeacon.
Two days ago we were also able to learn about the use of iBeacon by a British publishing startup Exact Editions, which deals with the digital distribution of magazines. Their clients include, for example, magazines Wire, Pop shot or Grand Design. Exact Editions they plan to expand iBeacon as part of their program ByPlace, which is used, for example, in cafes or in the doctor's waiting room. Individual businesses can thus subscribe to certain magazines and offer them to their customers for free via iBeacon, just as physical magazines are available at these locations. However, access to them is limited by the distance from the transmitter.
As part of the project, they launched Exact Editions a pilot program in a London bar Bar Kick. Visitors to the bar will get access to the digital edition of the football magazine When Saturday Comes and culture/fashion magazine Dazed & Confused. There are benefits on both sides. A magazine publisher can easily sell subscriptions to the business, which in turn helps promote the magazines to its customers. In turn, businesses will strengthen the loyalty of their customers and offer them something completely new for their iPhones and iPads.
Finally, Apple is not far behind, as it is set to install iBeacon transmitters in its 254 stores in America and quietly update its Apple Store app to support the technology. Thus, after opening the application, customers can receive various notifications, for example, about the status of their online order, which they pick up in person at the Apple Store, or about other events in the store, special offers, events, and the like.
Apple was supposed to demonstrate the use of iBeacon in the App Store to the AP agency this week, directly in its New York store on Fifth Avenue. Here he was supposed to have installed about 20 transmitters, some of which were directly iPhones and iPads, which apparently can be turned into such transmitters. Using Bluetooth technology, the transmitters are supposed to know the specific location of a given person, much more accurately than GPS, which both has greater tolerance and is less reliable in closed spaces.
In the future, we will probably see the deployment of iBeacon to a greater extent, not only in cafes, but also in boutiques and other businesses that could benefit from this interaction and alert customers to discounts in a certain department or news. Hopefully we will see the technology in practice even in our regions.
But, but… but… NFC!
With iBeacon and NFC, it's probably the case that BluRay finally beat the HD DVD format too. It took a long time and with these two camps it will probably be similar.
And Apple, as a pioneer in the deployment of new technologies (USB, Firewire, capacitive touch technology, the Internet in computers), is, according to many people, well on its way. NFC has a number of disadvantages (small range; many "standards" - because companies cannot agree and pull together; battery-intensive; antenna size, insufficient security).
It certainly occurs to everyone that NFC is more widespread and is already in sharp operation, but that does not seem like a good argument to me. But that's about BLE, a technology that is used by more and more things - watches, iBeacon systems and others, also paid. iBeacon is simply more universal and it will occur to anyone who thinks about it a bit.
I partially agree, but the BluRay and HD DVD must have been two similar solutions to the same problem. However, iBeacon and NFC each solve a different problem in a different way.
In my opinion, the main problem with NFC is security. With an NFC phone, the phone is just a dumb transmitter saying "here I am, my id is 1234 and whoever you want, use that info somehow". Except for iBeacons, the iPhone is a receiver that processes the signal it receives from other transmitters ("keychain" for a couple of dollars). So with iBeacons, you can have excellent security in your iPhone + YOU choose which signals you will react to - the others are "just" loaded and the iPhone, when it wants to, will receive and process them. So there is no problem with spam and notifications in the store if you don't want to, because you can simply disable the application and have peace of mind.
With NFC, anyone who picks up your signal has your information and can start spamming you. Phones with NFC are therefore dumb transmitters, phones with iBeacons are "smart" receivers, where processing takes place.
Now to the big difference in security:
– Android + NFC: whoever touches you will scan your NFC chip and read information from it (e.g. credit card), you can't do anything about it. So the payment in the store takes place, the terminal is a "smart" receiver, you just attach your stupid NFC Android phone, which allows the terminal to read your card information and process this data and enter the payment.
For the iPhone, I imagine it differently in the future:
– iPhone + iBeacons: since the iPhone is the receiver, no one can receive your data, because you are not sending anything. There is zero chance of data misuse here (in contrast to NFC). When you want to pay, you will have a Visa/MasterCard application in which you will have your card linked. In the store, the terminal will function not as a receiver, but as an iBeacon transmitter - you select the transmitted signal from the terminal (your purchase #1234), tell the application to make this payment (via a secure link via the Internet). When the payment is successful, the store system will receive information that payment #1234 has gone through and the seller will give you an invoice. So iBeacon payments will be broadcast publicly (at most someone will accidentally pay your bill, but you won't be angry) - and your phone will recognize the nearest iBeacon (you'll be standing at the right cash register) - so there won't be a problem with picking up the wrong payment either.
This is just an idea, I don't know if this is how payments via iPhone will work in the future - I just see it as the safest option with the practical impossibility of abuse. That's why I would never want an NFC phone, even for free.
Everyone was wondering why Apple doesn't put NFC in their phones. Well, as always, it was not due to incompetence, but because they had much better solutions on the way :-) I can imagine secure payment with iBeacons, but not with NFC.
But of course, just my opinion :-D
I think it's a good topic for an article :-)