Does Apple allow dual mode BLE connectivity in iOS? It seems that if BLE iOS apps could communicate to dual mode Bluetooth devices in BR/EDR mode, one wouldn't need to join the MFI program.
The CoreBluetooth library allows communication with a BLE peripheral using the GATT profile only.
The use of other profiles (aside from generic HFP/A2DP/AVRCP which is supported by AVFoundation and keyboards which have native HID support) requires going through the MFI program. So for example SPP.
And yes, iOS does not prevent using BLE for data communication while using an audio profile to the same device at the same time.
As of iOS 13 you can connect to both BLE and BR/EDR with CoreBluetooth, as introduced here.
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Bluetooth 5.1 introduced the ability to include a "Constant Tone Extension" into an Advertising packet. On the receive side, a suitable device can perform Angle-of-Arrival estimation using this information. I have experimented with this technology using BLE EVK devices (Nordic).
My question is can I use a 5.1 compatible smartphone as the transmitter? How can I enable CTE in the advertising packet? Is it something that can be configured through a suitable app and android SDK, or do I need lower-level access to the phones Bluetooth modem (drivers)?
Thanks!
Since CTE is an optional feature for Bluetooth 5.1, the answer is clear: it depends.
Bluetooth direction finding is not yet supported by Android, so it would require a manufacturer-specific API to enable CTE (if it is supported by the smartphone hardware).
I have read that Web Bluetooth API can connect to Bluetooth BLE devices. I understand that BLE is a part of Bluetooth V4, but will Web Bluetooth connect to a regular V4 device that is not BLE?
The version number in Bluetooth is mostly irrelevant. More optional features are added in every new version, but that's it. BLE was added in version 4. "Regular V4 devices" does not make sense. If you refer to "Bluetooth Classic" or BR/EDR devices, these are not BLE devices. However you will be able connect to these devices in Web Bluetooth if they run a GATT server, if the OS supports it, since GATT can also run over BR/EDR.
So I have a Linux with old BT2.0. I want to use it as iBeacon. Energy consumption is not my concern; the only one is API. Is it possible?
Unfortunately no. iBeacon and beacons in general depend on BLE advertisements, and this was introduced as part of the Bluetooth Low Energy features that are part of BT4.0. The only way around this is if you added a BT4.0 HCI dongle or a Bluetooth v4.0 device to your Linux machine.
You can find more information here:-
5 Things to Know about Beacon Technology
BLE Beacon Technology Made Simple
What are BLE Beacons
Pluggable USB Bluetooth v4.0 Dongle
Best Bluetooth Adapters in 2020
You will also need a relatively new version of Linux in order to have BlueZ support for BLE. Ideally your laptop should be on Linux v4.4 or later, but theoretically this should work from Linux v3.13 onwards. More details are found here:-
Bluetooth Linux Kernel Supported Versions
Checking BLE Capability on Linux
When I press a button on a device that is connected to iOS or Android via Bluetooth, it should perform some task in an app(app installed on iOS or Android). I am not sure which Bluetooth profile will be best for my job. I think HID profile, but will it work with iOS ? Any suggestions or comments are welcome.
iOS devices can't use standard Bluetooth connection with Android. In this case you should use BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). This means you should use GATT profile for Android. There is an important issue here: all iOS devices can BLE peripheral or central but for Android some devices only can peripheral.
Can a WindowsCE device connect so more than one BlueTooth device? The device needs to both serve as a BlueTooth hands-free speaker for a phone and connect to a third device via a serial BlueTooth connection.
Can an application do this without the need of a speciel driver?
You must understand that Windows CE is a modular OS and any specific platform capabilities are implemented by an OEM. An OEM can create a Windows CE device with absolutely no Bluetooth support or they might choose to implement just a Bluetooth client profile (say as a bluetooth audio device) or they may choose to implement a Bluetooth server so they can consume a Bluetooth serial device. They may also choose to implement both. Beyond what the OEM does in software, the hardware itself might allow only one or the other (or both or neither for that matter).
The short of this is that we can't actually answer your question becasue there is no generic answer that fits all devices. You have to ask the Device OEM what they support and if they can extend that support if they don't support what you need.