Difference Between Bluetooth And Wi-Fi

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are two wireless technologies that allow for communication between devices. The major difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is, Bluetooth is a short-range radio technology primarily designed for low power consumption and small device connectivity.

Wi-Fi is a long-range radio technology primarily intended for high data rates and larger networks. Both technologies have their own applications and limitations.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a network protocol that defines the method for transmission of data between two Bluetooth devices using short-range radio waves.

The devices can transfer data at a rate of up to 3 Mbps using Bluetooth. The devices must be within a distance of 33 feet. However, the distance can be extended using additional equipment.

A Bluetooth device uses a small chip to communicate with other Bluetooth devices. Many Bluetooth-enabled devices are available like desktop computers, notebook computers, smartphones, keyboards, mice and printers, etc. A Bluetooth wireless port adapter can be used to convert an existing USB port into a Bluetooth port. Most of the current operating systems have built-in support for Bluetooth.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is developed by IEEE and specifies how two wireless devices communicate over the air with each other. It is a family of wireless networking standards that uses the IEEE 802.11 standard.

There are various versions of the standard that support different speeds and distances. The common standards include 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 801.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ad. It provides data transfer rates from 11 Mbps to 7 Gbps. Most mobile computers and smartphones are Wi-Fi-enabled.

An example of a Wi-Fi network is the hotspots. A hotspot can be used by a mobile user to connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi-enabled computers and devices.

Wi-Fi can also connect computers wirelessly at home and in small businesses. The distance between different computers or devices can be up to 300 feet in open areas and about 100 feet in closed areas.

Bluetooth vs Wi-Fi

	Bluetooth	Wi-Fi
Hardware requirement	Bluetooth adapter for all devices connecting with each other.	A wireless adapter is for all devices in the network. A wireless router or wireless access point.
Specification	Bluetooth SIG	IEEE 802.11
Primary devices	Mobile phone, mouse, keyboard.
Rang	It covers an area of 30 feet.	It covers an area of 300-500 feet.
Power consumption	It consumes low power.	It consumes high power.
Security	It is more secure than Wi-Fi.	It is less secure than Bluetooth.
Number of connectivity	Bluetooth have limited connectivity in term of devices.	Wi-Fi have more connectivity in term of devices.
Bandwidth	It required a low bandwidth.	It required high bandwidth.

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