Difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

As we know, communication can be of two types: one is wireless, and the other one is wired. If we discuss wireless communication, there are a lot of protocols and different technologies available for transmitting the message signal. Different technologies have different limitations and functionality with different ranges of transmitting the message signal or data from one place to other.

In the wireless communication, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are both mostly used technologies which are discussed below:

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that is used for short range transmission, and it can transmit the data between mobiles and other devices which are Bluetooth enabled. It requires a transmission power of around 2.5 milliwatts which can transmit the data around the range of 10 meters. That is why Bluetooth technology is used for sharing the data with nearby devices or connecting music speakers or headphones. The IEEE standard for Bluetooth is IEEE 802.15.1. It transmits the signal in UHF radio waves. The latest version of the Bluetooth technology is Bluetooth 5.3, which has various features like channel classification enhancement, connection subtracting, etc. Bluetooth provides the data security using various algorithms like SAFER+ block cipher etc.

There can be various applications of Bluetooth, which are listed below:

• Wireless communication between a smartphone (Bluetooth enabled) and the music system of a car.
• Transferring of files or data between two nearby devices using FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
• To click the smartphone shutter button via a selfie stick.
• Communication wireless medium between smartphone and smart locks to open the locks.
• Data transfer of health monitoring devices to the smartphone using Bluetooth technology.

What is Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi means wireless fidelity, which is a protocol for the wireless transmission of data. Wi-Fi is based on the IEEE protocol of IEEE 802.11. Wi-Fi is used for transmitting the data to local area networks and also used for the internet access in devices like smartphones, laptops, etc. Wi-Fi signals are generally used for line of sight communication because it has a high absorption rate. Wi-Fi signal strength is reduced by the obstacles like rooms or walls or buildings etc.

There are different versions of Wi-Fi based on different IEEE standards:

• Wi-Fi-4: 11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n IEEE standards
• Wi-Fi-5: 11h, 802.11i, 802.11-2007, 802.11-2012, 802.11ac IEEE standards
• Wi-Fi-6: 11ad, 802.11af, 802.11-2016, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj, 802.11au, 802.11ax IEEE Standards.

Applications of Wi-Fi

• Wi-Fi technology is used to provide internet access to the devices using one or more routers.
• Wi-Fi technology can be used to share the data or files from one device to another very fastly.
• Motion sensing and gesture recognition can be used by the Wi-Fi sensing technology.
• We can identify the location of any device using the Wi-Fi positioning system.

Difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi