Can two apps read data from the same BLE sensor in Android?

Question

Can two independent apps (on the same phone) read the data from the same BLE sensor?

Case in point: Can I develop an app that gets the HR from a BT HR sensor while another app is already connected to it?

Answer 1

No you can only have one active connection at the same time. For two handsets to read from one heart rate monitor you would have to connect one, do a read, disconnect, connect the other, do a read.

A possible workaround is if you include the heartrate in the advertisement packet. This way you don't even have to be connected at all.