Not all Macs and iPhones will support Handoff "continuity" features
When Apple showed off its forthcoming iOS (for mobile) and Yosemite (for computers) operating systems a few weeks ago, there was one particularly exciting feature for users of both: Handoff enabled users to pick up where they left off one on device on another. For example, it will be possible to start writing an email on your iPhone, but finish it on your iMac before sending it.
To facilitate this, Apple came up with what it called “Handoff” – and the way it works is that if you start tapping out an email on your phone and you’re within range of your iMac, an icon will appear on the launcher bar at the bottom of the screen, and in a click it will load up the draft email for you to continue with. Very clever.
As it turns out though, this may not be the case. According to German website Apfeleimer the way Handoff will work is using Bluetooth 4.0 LE technology – which is only available on the bluetooth chips in newer Apple devices.
Helpfully the website produced the below graphic showing which devices will work:
The reason for the limited device is that Bluetooth 4.0 LE is a relatively new technology. “LE” stands for “low energy”, which is obviously a desirable quality if Apple is expecting devices to have bluetooth switched on at all times for this to work.
So if you’re still hanging on to an older device… sorry for being the bearer of bad news.
