A new report indicates that the Apple TV update (version 6.1) that dropped earlier this week may have an extra feature that no one had noticed until now. A report from AFP548 (via Daring Fireball) indicates that Apple also enabled AirPlay device discovery over Bluetooth as well.
In addition to bonjour negotiation for AirPlay, iOS 7.1 devices will also look for AirPlay sources over bluetooth when doing it’s scan! This means you do NOT need bonjour to AirPlay.
The change allows an Apple TV to search for a connectable device via Bluetooth, bypassing Bonjour. This is good news for education users who might need to pair an iOS device and an Apple TV if they’re on a network that blocks Bonjour.
AFP548 reports that the new feature requires an Apple TV updated to version 6.1, an iOS device running iOS 7.1, a Bluetooth 4.0 compatible device, and iP connectivity between the two devices. Further testing by AFP548 found that the feature doesn’t as yet support Macs.
AFP548 also supplied a list of iOS devices that Support BT 4.0:
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPod Touch 5th Gen
iPad 3rd Gen
iPad 4th Gen
iPad Air
iPad Mini 1st Gen
iPad Mini 2nd Gen
AppleTV 3rd Gen
AppleTV 3rd Gen Rev A
