Samsung is now challenging Apple with a new product called Proximity, which will go head to head with Cupertino's iBeacon.
The new Proximity service from Samsung is shaping up as a direct competitor to Apple's iBeacon, which should further heat up competition between the two tech giants.
"Samsung Proximity is a mobile marketing platform that connects consumers with places via cutting-edge Samsung location and context-aware technology," Samsung explains.
"With Samsung Proximity, visitors are able to experience rich context related to their location, and marketers can better engage with customers for increased sales and brand awareness."
Samsung further details the applications associated with its new Proximity, and they are identical to those Apple already uses with its iBeacon partners. The underlying technology is also the same for both iBeacon and Proximity, as both services rely on Bluetooth LE beacons to broadcast information to them. Samsung, however, seems to have a slightly different method of delivering that information.
With Apple's iBeacon, for instance, retailers and other businesses must have their own iPhone app in order to send alerts. With Samsung's Proximity, meanwhile, support will be baked-in right into its Android overlay, which means that it's always on. In other words, businesses and retailers can offer their own app to customers if they want to, but it's not a requirement like with iBeacon.
On the other hand, it remains unclear at this point just what options consumers will have regarding which alerts they want to receive. At the same time, Samsung has yet to announce when its new Proximity service will become available. The company is currently working on signing up businesses to Proximity, but the service should become available soon enough.
"Visitors can enjoy an enhanced in-store experience by receiving relevant, real-time, and personalized content," Samsung further touts. "Marketers can broaden their target consumer audience and lift sales volume by directly leveraging the high penetration of Samsung mobile services."
Samsung's new Proximity is shaping up to be a real challenger to Apple's iBeacon, albeit the latter has a notable head start and is already an established service. Apple already struck deals with a range of bigwig businesses for its iBeacon service, including Macy's, American Eagle, Disney, The Bay, Lord & Tailor, Walmart, as well as airports, restaurants, stadiums, and small businesses.
