Why were the Bluetooth Smart marks created?

The Bluetooth Smart marks were created to help consumers ensure compatibility among their Bluetooth enabled devices. There are two trademarks: the Bluetooth Smart trademark and the Bluetooth Smart Ready trademark.

What are Bluetooth Smart devices?

Bluetooth Smart devices are designed to gather a specific type of information — are all the doors and windows locked? What is my blood glucose level, and how much do I weigh today? — and send it to a Bluetooth Smart Ready device. Bluetooth Smart devices include heart rate monitors, blood glucose meters, smart watches, window and door security sensors, car key fobs and blood pressure cuffs — the opportunities are endless.

Bluetooth Smart Ready devices efficiently receive data sent from Classic Bluetooth devices and Bluetooth Smart devices and feed it into applications that turn the data into useful information. Bluetooth Smart Ready devices are the most effective way to connect to billions of Bluetooth devices already in users' hands. Examples include phones, tablets, PCs, TVs, even set-top boxes and game consoles that sit at the center of the consumers' connected world. 

What is Bluetooth low energy technology, and what does it mean for Bluetooth Smart devices?

Low energy use is the hallmark of Bluetooth v4.0. It allows extremely low energy devices — which can run for months or even years on tiny coin-cell batteries — to utilize Bluetooth wireless technology. This is the feature that has opened the floodgates to development of Bluetooth enabled devices, and of Bluetooth Smart devices in particular.

What is Bluetooth Core Specification version 4.0, and what does it mean for Bluetooth Smart devices?

Bluetooth v4.0 includes a low energy feature that is the basis for Bluetooth Smart devices. A product bearing the Bluetooth Smart or Bluetooth Smart Ready logo must meet the following criteria:

1. Incorporate Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0 (or higher) with a Basic Rate and Low Energy Combined Core Configuration
2. Uses the GATT-based architecture to provide a means by which the end user can choose to update the Bluetooth Smart Ready product with the functionality of a Bluetooth Smart product​

Why did you develop the Bluetooth Smart marks?

Bluetooth v4.0 is enabling entirely new use cases for Bluetooth wireless technology — for the first time, allowing small devices powered by tiny coin-cell batteries to connect wirelessly. This advancement in technology will cause explosive growth in the numbers of Bluetooth enabled devices. With this change comes a need to better understand which devices work together.

What went into developing the two Smart marks?

The Bluetooth Smart marks brand extension is the culmination of thousands of hours of work over the course of many months by the Bluetooth SIG staff, Bluetooth SIG members, the Board of Directors, research and messaging specialists, even consumers. After identifying (at the 2011 All Hands Meeting [AHM]) the #1 issue members were facing, the Bluetooth SIG has led the charge in finding the best way to communicate the ways new Bluetooth enabled devices will work together.

Why are there two marks?
Bluetooth v4.0 enables two different wireless radios. The radio in a Bluetooth Smart Ready device is referred to as "dual mode," because it supports both Classic Bluetooth wireless connections and new Bluetooth low energy connections. Thus, Bluetooth Smart Ready devices are backward-compatible with all of the billions of Bluetooth devices in the market today.

The radio in a Bluetooth Smart device is referred to as "single mode," because it supports only new Bluetooth low energy connections. Single-mode radios will not work with existing Bluetooth devices. A single-mode radio enables extremely efficient power use, which is essential for devices operating on a single coin-cell battery. Single-mode Bluetooth Smart devices can connect only to Bluetooth Smart Ready devices with dual-mode radios and any Bluetooth devices where compatibility is explicitly stated by the manufacturer.

What kinds of devices will bear the Bluetooth Smart Ready mark?

Bluetooth Smart Ready devices — smartphones, tablets, personal computers and TVs, even set-top boxes and game consoles — are the hub devices at the center of consumers' connected world. Bluetooth Smart Ready devices can speak to any Bluetooth enabled product, including Classic Bluetooth enabled products, and will also communicate with future Bluetooth devices.

What kinds of devices will bear the Bluetooth Smart mark?

Bluetooth Smart devices will mainly be small coin-cell powered sensors (data collectors) designed to gather a specific type of information — are all the windows and doors locked? What is my blood glucose level, and how much do I weigh today? — and send it to a Bluetooth Smart Ready device.​

What about the original Bluetooth logo — will consumers still see that on packaging and devices?

Yes. The Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready trademarks are extensions of the Bluetooth brand. Additionally, the Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready marks will be found only on packaging, on product websites and in product descriptions. The original Bluetooth logos will still be the most commonly seen logos on actual devices and device displays.

What if I have already built a Bluetooth v4.0 device — can I still make it a Bluetooth Smart device?

If your device is already on the market, and if it meets the required criteria, it may still qualify as a Bluetooth Smart device. The Bluetooth SIG is happy to work with member companies in their designation of Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready devices on product packaging and manufacturer websites. Contact the Brand Manager for advice​.

What if I am building a Bluetooth v4.0 device that doesn't meet the criteria to qualify as a Bluetooth Smart device — can I still market it as Bluetooth v4.0?

Absolutely, provided it follows standard qualification procedures. The Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready designations provide compatibility indications for the consumer. If your product does not meet Bluetooth Smart criteria and you would rather market the specification version versus the full compatibility story, there are no restrictions on your doing so.

Will current Bluetooth devices work with products that have the Bluetooth Smart Ready mark?

Yes.

Will current Bluetooth devices work with products that have the Bluetooth Smart mark?

Devices that will work with a Bluetooth enabled product marked with the Bluetooth Smart mark are hub devices such as smartphones, computers, tablets and TVs carrying the Bluetooth Smart Ready mark. In addition, these devices may also work with any Bluetooth enabled devices where compatibility is explicitly stated by the manufacturer.

Learn more about the possibilities of using the Bluetooth Smart Marks​.