Apple changed the way we live with the iPod. Then it did it again with the iPhone.
Steve Jobs repeated the feat once again with the iPad, and just as we get used to that, his company's about to transform our lives for the fourth time.
Apple announced its iBeacon technology with iOS7 and it's been built into all the firm's operating systems and devices since 2013. If businesses simply set up some transmitters, they can send messages to nearby smartphones advertising their presence and doing everything from sending special offers to recognising a customer.
Here are outlines two things you need to know about iBeacon:
1. It's based on Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth LE is fuelling the Internet of Things, and the latest version of the 10-year-old innovation was designed specifically so it's not as energy sapping as its predecessors. This is the backbone of iBeacon - despite Bluetooth's location-based technology, it wouldn't work if everyone disabled the feature to conserve battery life.
It also means it's open standard. While Apple's trademarked iBeacon, Android and other operating systems can utilise Bluetooth to do the same thing too. The only thing they'd need to do is develop a similar app - Apple decided to build it into iOS7, meaning each smartphone automatically locates itself by using its own triangulating software.
2. Bluetooth and NFC will go head to head
Near Field Communication (NFC) has co-existed fairly peacefully with Bluetooth since 2004, but many predict that relations will grow hostile as the IoT takes hold. Nine years ago, NFC was very different to Bluetooth, but while the two are based on very distinct technologies, they are growing increasingly similar.
NFC is limited to distances of just a few centimetres, while Bluetooth extends to more than 30ft. But as Bluetooth's location accuracy improves with every update, and as the IoT means close-field communication becomes more important, the question arises: don't we just need one?
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