14 DAY TRIAL // Bluetooth is quite an essential feature of today’s devices, and Microsoft’s have more or less lagged behind rivals given the rather limited functionality offered by its operating system.
But with the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft is aiming at offering improved Bluetooth support, which would also overhaul the notification features that the OS is providing with wearable devices.
Microsoft has revealed in a post that it’s working with Fitbit, Garmin, and other device manufacturers to improve Bluetooth in Windows 10 Creators Update, and the recently-released preview builds already feature some of them, so users are being asked to submit feedback.
Microsoft implemented three main Bluetooth features in Windows 10 build 15007, namely GATT Server, Bluetooth LE Peripheral, and unpaired Bluetooth LE device connectivity.
Notifications from Windows phones
GATT Server is of particular interest for Windows 10 Mobile device owners because it can substantially improve the experience they have with wearables, as smartphones can now play the role of server and send the notifications it receives to others devices connected via Bluetooth.
“A Windows Phone (Client) reads data from a heart rate monitor (Server) to track that a user is working out optimally. Windows has traditionally been a GATT Client but with the Windows 10 Creators Update, Windows can operate as the Server as well,” Microsoft explains.
“Your phone or PC has notification/user credential information that a wearable device does not have. For instance, when an incoming text message comes in, Windows can act as the GATT Server and notify a nearby wearable of the text’s arrival.”
With these improvements, wearables can finally get notifications when paired with Windows 10 Mobile devices, and developers will need to update their apps to support these features. Fitbit is one of the first to do it, and its wearables will soon offer call and SMS notification support on Windows 10 Mobile.
Unfortunately, there aren’t too many wearable manufacturers that support Windows 10 Mobile, so although Microsoft does improve Windows 10 Mobile with modern Bluetooth features, users on the platform are still lagging behind those on Android and iOS because of poor developer support.