What Is the Difference Between iBeacon and Eddystone?
Beacons are advertise-only BLE devices that announce a location or an identity. Two formats dominate. Apple's iBeacon arrived first and is woven into iOS through Core Location. Google's Eddystone is open and carries more frame types. Walk into a store, a museum, or a warehouse and you are probably standing in the field of one or the other.
What does an iBeacon broadcast?
An iBeacon advertises three identifiers plus a calibrated power value: a 128-bit UUID for the operator, a 16-bit major to group beacons, and a 16-bit minor for the individual unit. The measured power field, set at one meter, lets apps estimate proximity zones. iOS reads iBeacons through Core Location, not Core Bluetooth, which is a key practical difference.
A coffee chain might use one UUID across all stores, a major per city, and a minor per location. An app registered for that UUID wakes when it enters the region and ranges the beacons into immediate, near, and far. Because iOS routes iBeacon through Core Location, the app needs location permission, and the beacon itself stays a simple broadcaster.
What does Eddystone broadcast?
Eddystone defines four frame types. Eddystone-UID sends a namespace and instance like iBeacon's identifiers. Eddystone-URL broadcasts a compressed web address directly. Eddystone-TLM carries telemetry such as battery and temperature. Eddystone-EID emits a rotating encrypted identifier for security. A beacon can interleave frames, so one device advertises an ID, a URL, and health data in turn.
The standout is Eddystone-URL: a beacon can broadcast a link with no app required, since the format is open and readable by any compatible scanner. TLM frames let fleet operators monitor battery and uptime across hundreds of beacons. EID frames rotate to stop spoofing and unauthorized tracking, which matters for payments and access control.
How do iBeacon and Eddystone compare directly?
iBeacon carries one identity format and ties into iOS Core Location, making it simple for app-based proximity. Eddystone carries four frame types, broadcasts URLs without an app, includes telemetry, and works the same on any platform. Choose iBeacon for tight iOS integration, Eddystone for flexibility, fleet monitoring, or app-free URL broadcasting.
| Aspect | iBeacon | Eddystone |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Apple | Google (open) |
| Identifiers | UUID + major + minor | UID, URL, TLM, EID frames |
| iOS access | Core Location | Core Bluetooth |
| App required | Yes, registered for UUID | No for URL frames |
| Telemetry | None built in | TLM frame (battery, temp) |
| Best for | iOS proximity apps | Cross-platform, fleet ops |
Which should you use for your project?
Use iBeacon when your experience lives in an iOS app and you want region monitoring and proximity ranging with minimal beacon complexity. Use Eddystone when you need URL broadcasting without an app, cross-platform support, fleet telemetry, or rotating secure identifiers. Many deployments run both formats from the same hardware to cover every device and use case.
Retail loyalty apps lean iBeacon for the tight Core Location integration. Museums and public signage favor Eddystone-URL so any phone can pick up a link. Asset-tracking fleets value TLM for battery health and EID for security. Dual-format beacons are common because the marginal cost of advertising both is small and the reach is wider.
Key takeaways
- iBeacon broadcasts UUID, major, and minor and is read through iOS Core Location.
- Eddystone has four frames: UID, URL, TLM telemetry, and rotating EID.
- Eddystone-URL broadcasts a web link with no app required.
- iBeacon suits iOS proximity apps; Eddystone suits cross-platform and fleet use.
- Many beacons advertise both formats from the same hardware.
Frequently asked questions
- Can an iPhone see Eddystone beacons?
- Yes, through Core Bluetooth rather than Core Location. iOS does not surface Eddystone in a system UI, so you need a scanner app that parses the frame types. The app reads the advertising packet and decodes UID, URL, TLM, or EID frames. iBeacon, by contrast, is handled through Core Location region monitoring.
- Do beacons connect to my phone?
- No. Both iBeacon and Eddystone are advertise-only. They broadcast packets continuously and never accept a GATT connection in normal operation. Your phone listens passively and decodes the broadcast. This is why beacons have long battery life and why you cannot browse a GATT tree on them the way you can on a connectable device.
- Is Eddystone deprecated?
- Google wound down some Eddystone-based consumer products, but the open protocol specification remains published and widely used in retail, signage, and asset tracking. Hardware vendors still ship Eddystone-capable beacons. Since the format is open, it does not depend on any single company's service to keep working with a compatible scanner.
- Which format gives better location accuracy?
- Accuracy depends on RSSI and calibration, not the format. Both include a calibrated power reference that apps use to estimate near, immediate, and far zones. Neither gives precise distance, because reflections and obstacles distort the signal. For tighter positioning you average many samples and accept that beacons provide zones, not coordinates.
Bluetooth & IoT Tooling, BigBalli. We build iOS tools for inspecting Bluetooth Low Energy and write guides cross-checked against the Bluetooth SIG specifications and Apple's Core Bluetooth documentation.
BLE Scanner is an engineering and diagnostic tool. Beacon behavior varies by vendor firmware; confirm frame formats and identifiers against the manufacturer's documentation before relying on a parsed value.