system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How does bluetooth actually work?
gpt
Bluetooth works very much like your WiFi, by sending data wirelessly over a 2.4Ghz frequency, but there are 3 key differences:

* Bluetooth is designed to have low power consumption, and that's mainly the reason why its effective range and transfer speeds are both lower than with WiFi

* WiFi will today also operate on a 5 Ghz frequency, which typically means more data can be crammed in during transfer, but a worse range than 2.4 Ghz due to attenuation (loss of signal over a distance)

* Different protocols. A protocol decides how two devices are expected to communicate and tends to be designed for specific purposes. Since Bluetooth serves a different purpose to WiFi, it talks to devices and sets expectations in a different manner

There are different ways Bluetooth devices talk to each other (sometimes referred to as handshakes), but it looks something like this:

1. One device broadcasts a signal to discover other Bluetooth devices. Other devices may reply with their identifying information.

2. Form a connection between devices. 

3. Connectivity is formed, and now devices can either talk, enter a low-power idling mode, or a few other modes.