Bluetooth technology was designed to provide a wireless alternative to cable connections by using radio transmissions to exchange data, and its popularity and widespread adoption has helped the standard become a core component of the IoT.

With the release of Bluetooth 4.0 low energy functionality was introduced and provided developers with the ability to create applications that can run on coin cell batteries for years at a time. This efficiency further encouraged the development of IoT devices that depend on long battery life, and this user guide discusses some of the considerations for designing for low energy features.