Eddystone vs i beacon
- 2. Introduction
• Google entered the beacon space when it launched Eddystone in July 2015,
two years after Apple introduced iBeacon technology. In the presence of
the two giants, Apple and Google, this relatively new technology saw a lot
of traction. there is a need to understand the basic features extended by both
iBeacon and Eddystone.
• Let’s assess the differences between the two beacon protocols to see what
they offer.
- 3. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(Technology )
• Apple’s iBeacon
iBeacon technology is a beacon
protocol that has been built into
Apple’s iOS 7 and later versions of
mobile operating system that allows
iPhones and iPads to constantly scan
for Bluetooth devices nearby.
Beacons use Bluetooth Low Energy
(BLE) which is a part of Bluetooth
4.0 specification.
• Google’s Eddystone
Google’s Eddystone, formerly
called UriBeacon, is a beacon
protocol for open-source beacons
which could be manufactured by
any business at an affordable cost.
- 4. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(Compatibility )
• Apple’s iBeacon
It is Android and iOS compatible, but
native only for iOS
• Google’s Eddystone
It is Android and iOS compatible.
In fact, it is cross-platform and thus
is compatible with any platform
that supports BLE beacons.
- 5. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(Profile)
• Apple’s iBeacon
It is aproprietary software. Thus,
the specificationis controlled by
Apple.
• Google’s Eddystone
It is open-source. The specification
is published openly on GitHub,
under the open-source Apache v2.0
license, so that businesses and
developers can access and
contribute to it.
- 6. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(Use)
• Apple’s iBeacon
It is simple to implement.
• Google’s Eddystone
coding when it comes to
integration, since it sends more
packets of information than
iBeacon.
- 7. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(Usage)
• Apple’s iBeacon
UUIDs, one of the components in the
advertising packet, are basically tied
in to the developer’s server.
Therefore, when it is sent to a
smartphone, the device would need a
specific app to do a particular task
with the information received.
Therefore, a mobile app is necessary
to receive messages via iBeacon.
• Google’s Eddystone
Eddystone, on the other hand,
sends out URL in place of UUID,
which can simply open in a web
browser vis-à-vis specific apps.
For iOS devices, it is supported
by Chrome with the ‘Today’
notifications enabled, whereas for
Android devices, it is supported
on the ‘Physical Web’ browser.
- 8. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(Security and Privacy)
• Apple’s iBeacon
There is no specific feature such as
Ephemeral Identifiers (EIDs) in
iBeacon. The signal transmitted by
a beacon is a public signal and can
be detected by any iOS device and
certain Android devices with proper
specifications.
• Google’s Eddystone
Eddystone has a built-in feature
called EIDs that constantly change
and allow beacons to broadcast a
signal that can only be identified by
‘authorized clients’.
- 9. iBeacon vs Eddystone
(API)
• Apple’s iBeacon
Apple has no specific API made
available for iBeacon fleet
management. Application Program
Interface (API) is a set of routines,
protocols, and tools for building
software applications. It specifies
how software components should
interact.
• Google’s Eddystone
Eddystone has an advantage
here since Google has
launched two APIs (Nearby
API and Proximity Beacon
API) that makes Eddystone
beacons more powerful. These
APIs also make beacon fleet
management much easier.