The LightBlue Bean+ is an Arduino-compatible board that you program wirelessly using Bluetooth Low Energy. 

The Bean+ is the latest addition to the LightBlue Bean family: a line of easy-to-use, wireless Arduinos. With new Bluetooth Low Energy capabilities, solderless connectors, 16 GPIOs, a rechargeable battery and enough range to program your neighbor's neighbor's Beans.

Wireless programming

The Bean+ can be programmed from your favorite platforms: OS X, Windows, iOS and Android. All programming is done wirelessly and you can even program multiple Beans at once. No wires; no worries.

The most talented Bean you've ever met

The Bean+ comes equipped with five new Bluetooth Low Energy capabilities: beacon, MIDI, HID, ANCS and observer role.

Have the Bean+ receive your Apple notifications during the weekdays, be a MIDI instrument by Friday and work the weekends as a keyboard or a mouse. Then let it spend its holidays socializing with other Beans.

Hardware Features

Built-in accelerometer, temperature sensor and RGB LED

The Bean+ comes with an on-board accelerometer and temperature sensor. Use the accelerometer to make MIDI maracas or receive a notification when your pink-belly short-neck turtle's terrarium is getting too hot. 

Boosted range

With a new RF amplifier, the Bean+ can communicate with other Bean+'s from up to 400 meters (1,300 ft) under ideal conditions, or 250 meters (820 ft) to your smartphone. Upload a new sketch to your tree house Bean+ without having to leave your bed, or turn on epic welcoming music in your house before you even pull into to your driveway. 

Rechargeable battery

Every Bean+ has a 600 mAh rechargeable battery, running for over a year on one charge when programmed with a low-power sketch. 

The added micro-USB port allows you to charge the Bean+ wherever you go. Or go totally mobile and hook it up to a USB solar charger! Keep in mind that the Bean+ is programmed wirelessly, so the micro-USB connector is just for charging. 

The Bean+ is suited for projects requiring higher current draw, such as powering servo motors or high-power LEDs.

Plug and play accessories

The Bean+ comes with two types of connectors: 0.1" pitch female headers and Grove connectors developed by Seeed Studio. Grove is a new building-block style system, useful for hooking up all different kinds of sensors, input or output devices.

Choose your operating voltage

The Bean+ has a switch that lets you choose between 3.3V or 5V as the operating voltage. So no more voltage level translation to make the Bean+ work with your favorite accessories.

Bluetooth Low Energy Capabilities

Wireless programming

The Bean+ can be programmed from most iOS, OS X, Windows and Android devices with Bluetooth Low Energy capabilities. Write code at the comfort of your computer using the standard Arduino IDE, or on-the-fly using our iOS and Android Bean Loader apps.

Interacts with your iPhone without iOS programming

The Bean+ is perfect for any smartphone-controlled project. Use our app LightBlue to quickly interact with the Bean+ without having to make your own app. Make a smartphone-controlled hovercraft or use your iPhone to turn the lights on and off in your roommate's bedroom.

iOS and Android SDKs

We provide official iOS, OS X and Android SDKs that help you develop smartphone apps that interact with the Bean+. These have been been put to the test by our own apps, as well as many built by our community. 

Bean to Bean communication

Your Bean+ can talk to other Beans! This feature uses BLE advertisement packets and the observer role to send simple messages between Beans.

Make music with MIDI

With the MIDI profile, the Bean+ can send and receive MIDI data and be used as an instrument with apps like GarageBand.

Receive notifications with ANCS

Apple Notification Center Service (ANCS) allows the Bean+ to receive any of your Apple device's notifications. Write a sketch that blinks an LED when a special friend sends a text, or rings a bell when your Uber is arriving. 

HID

Use the Bean+ as a wireless mouse or keyboard with the Human Interface Device (HID) profile. Works with smartphones, tablets and computers.

Easy web integration

Quickly connect the Bean+ to the Internet using Node-RED or OctoBlu: two visual programming interfaces for the Internet of things.

Beacon

The Bean+ can easily be configured as a Beacon and lets you trigger events in your app whenever your device is close by.

The latest addition to the Bean family

The Bean+ is a new hardware flavor of the LightBlue Bean. Its solderless connectors, boosted range and powerful battery open new possibilities for projects and make it easy for developers to use.

The original Bean is here to stay, as it's still a compact and low-power prototyping platform. Later this year, it will receive all the new Bluetooth Low Energy capabilities, such as MIDI, ANCS, HID, and observer role.

Both Bean products are software compatible. Our Bean Loaders and SDKs work with both Beans and your Arduino sketches can be used interchangeably.