Why Does iOS 6 Have A New ‘Bluetooth Sharing’ Feature?

Why Does iOS 6 Have A New ‘Bluetooth Sharing’ Feature?

Here’s a mysterious new “Bluetooth Sharing” tab, which has cropped up under iOS 6’s privacy settings. It seems Apple’s new mobile OS will allow apps to share more types of data over Bluetooth. What are Apple’s plans for this feature?

We’re really not sure why Apple has introduced this new feature, but our best guess is that it’s related to Passbook. In many ways, Passbook is the iOS answer to the NFC-enabled Google Wallet, except that Passbook is more tightly integrated. It’s basically a more sophisticated mobile payments system for iOS.

The new Bluetooth Sharing feature allows apps to share data with other devices even when you’re not using the apps. It seems like an excellent way for your phone to talk to retailers, airlines and local restaurants whenever you’re nearby. It wouldn’t necessarily need to be used for payments — that might require more security — but it could be used for everything from serving you coupons to automatically pulling up boarding pass info when you’re walking up to the gate at the airport.

So what’s in store for us with Bluetooth Sharing? We’ll have to wait until later in the year to find out for sure. [9To5Mac]


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