Apple's iOS was the first platform to bring the technology to the masses. Technically speaking, Apple extended its iOS CLLocation class, which previously supported only GPS/Geolocation, to support beacons as well. The underlying technology (BLE) was created by Nokia and the concept of “beacons” is universal to all hardware compatible with Bluetooth Smart/BLE that is available under the Bluetooth 4.0 specification. The iBeacon name and protocol are trademarked by Apple.