New Bluetooth features in Windows 10 Creators Update (a.k.a. GATT Server and friends)
This release is big on Bluetooth. If you’re familiar with Windows Bluetooth APIs, have been meaning to try them out, or if you’re just starting to dabble in IoT and wearables, this is a great time to take a fresh look at all things Bluetooth. To ensure the APIs we built out are functional and performant, we are working directly with Fitbit, Garmin and other device manufacturers and we would love your feedback as well.
There are three main features in this month’s Insider preview:
- GATT Server
- Bluetooth LE Peripheral
- Unpaired Bluetooth LE device connectivity
A lot of the improvements are focused on Bluetooth LE, but we have improved Bluetooth audio functionality as well. While we made a lot of changes under the hood to ensure that all your devices talk nicely with each other, we also added a couple of new features.
Call Control API support comes to desktop. This means your VoIP apps can natively take advantage of Bluetooth headset functionality like pick up, hang up, hold, call waiting, etc. You will also experience higher-quality audio for voice, thanks to Wideband speech – coming soon to desktop. Now, Cortana will sound more lifelike and your Skype sessions will sound better than ever over Bluetooth.
Now, let’s break down the LE portions of this feature set.
GATT Server
GATT (or Generic ATTribute) logically describes how data is structured and must function in a Bluetooth LE device. The device that has the interesting data is the Server, and the device that uses that data to perform a function is known as the Client. For example, 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. The hierarchy of classes in the example heart rate service is described below, but you can pick and choose any logical set of characteristics and descriptors to make your custom GATT service.
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. Diagram 1 shows a sample service structure using Bluetooth classes implemented in this release.
Diagram 1: Sample Heart Rate GattDeviceService
For a more thorough discussion of GATT and all of its intricacies, take a look at the Bluetooth SIG page or the GATT tutorial on Adafruit.
Bluetooth LE Peripheral Role
In addition to GATT roles which determine the structure of the data, Bluetooth defines Generic Access Profile (GAP) roles as well.
These GAP roles specify which device advertises as connectable and which device does the connecting. To connect a device, Windows users generally go to the Settings page, find the device they want to connect and tap to connect. This action of connecting to remote devices implies that Windows is operating in the GAP Central role. However, there are often cases where remote devices such as smart locks need to be aware of Windows, or where you’re trying to connect two Windows devices. In such cases, we need to make sure that Windows can advertise as connectable. With the new Insider preview, apps can put the system in a state to advertise support for Bluetooth LE services. With Peripheral role and GATT Server combined, Windows can operate in all four combinations of GATT and GAP roles (color choices arbitrary, of course):
Diagram 2: Windows operating in all GATT and GAP roles
Unpaired Bluetooth LE device connectivity
Traditionally, Bluetooth LE devices needed to be paired with Windows to be accessed. This either forced the user to switch context to the Settings page, or caused developers to implement in-app pairing logic within the app. Unfortunately, there were even devices that didn’t support pairing, which necessitated ugly workarounds for the developer. All that is going to change now with the new Async GATT APIs.
In the new APIs, take a look at BluetoothLEDevice.GetGattServicesAsync(), GattDeviceService.GetCharacteristicsAsync() as well as GattCharacteristic.GetDescriptorsAsync() to get an idea for how to query a remote device without pairing.
What you need to get started
It’s all in the release preview Build and SDK, available to download here. Once you install the build, take a look at the classes that were described in the previous sections and have at it. We’re a little light on the documentation right now, but we will remedy that soon.
Does this mean my <insert wearable here> can get notifications?
GATT Server will open up a myriad of Bluetooth LE device-to-device scenarios that we think are super exciting! Why limit yourself to “Notifications”? Think remote authentication, smart locks, proximity and IoT! The world is your (wireless) oyster. But yes, developers can start enabling notifications now. However, consumers will only see this functionality lit up once Windows 10 Creators Update is released and their updated app is in the store.
If you would like us to go deeper on any of the topics in this post, please let us know in the comment sections below.
Source: New Bluetooth features in Windows 10 Creators Update (a.k.a. GATT Server and friends)
