Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), also known as Bluetooth Smart, is a wireless [[Personal Area Networks (PANs)|personal area network]] technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) for novel applications in the healthcare, fitness, beacons, security, and home entertainment industries. It is distinct from the classic [[Bluetooth]] (Bluetooth Classic).

The most significant feature of BLE is its extremely low power consumption. It is designed to consume a fraction of the power of Bluetooth Classic, making it ideal for battery-operated or energy-sensitive devices like wearables and [[IoT]] sensors.

Unlike Bluetooth Classic, which maintains a continuous connection, BLE remains in sleep mode except when a connection is initiated. This 'connectionless' communication contributes to its lower power usage.

BLE can communicate over similar distances to Bluetooth Classic, typically around 100 meters (330 feet) in open space, depending on the hardware. BLE is optimized for low data rate applications, with a maximum transfer rate of about 1 Mbps, which is less than Bluetooth Classic but sufficient for its intended uses.

BLE is widely used in applications where periodic or infrequent data transfers are required over a long period, such as in fitness trackers, health monitoring devices, smart home devices, and location beacons.

Most modern smartphones, tablets, and computers that support Bluetooth 4.0 or higher are compatible with both Bluetooth Classic and BLE. BLE supports various network topologies, including point-to-point, broadcast, and mesh networking, which allows for extensive IoT deployments.

BLE enables easy pairing and wireless connectivity, often simplifying the connection process without the need for manual discovery and pairing as in Bluetooth Classic.

BLE incorporates robust security features like [[Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)|AES-128]] encryption, but the security implementations can vary based on the application requirements.