Apple’s trademarked iBeacon protocol was developed for iOS devices, but it actually works equally well with Android devices running the appropriate software. In fact, according to a new study by marketing firm Aislelabs, Android phones may prove to be superior devices for searching and connecting to iBeacons, at least as far as battery life is concerned.

A few months ago, marketing firm Aislelabs published a study examining the effects of iBeacons on battery drain with Android handsets. This new report examines the differences between iBeacon-driven battery drain on iOS and Android.

Any device with Bluetooth Low Energy support can theoretically connect to a beacon using a variety of protocols, such as the open-source Altbeacon, but most beacons currently conform to Apple’s proprietary iBeacon specification, which was described in developer tools that were released with iOS 7. Android developers were able to adapt Apple’s protocol to develop apps and libraries for other platforms

Source : Aislelabs.com