Bluetooth pairing between iPhone and Mac Mini M1 "not supported"

It worked like a dream for six months - and now it doesn't - the bluetooth on the M1 does not even recognise that my iPhoneX is there... But several 'security' updates later and it's all broken.

My M1 will pair to the hotspot on my iPhoneX, and it will connect with iTunes/Music over the cable... BUT bluetooth is a 'no'

One could observe that this is engineered obsolescence at work designed to push us to new models of iPhone, but that would be pure speculation on my part...

How to Reset Your Mac's Bluetooth Module to Fix Connection Issues...

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/reset-mac-bluetooth-module/

1. Open Terminal via a spotlight search by pressing the Space-Command. 
2. Type in the following command pressing Return afterward: sudo pkill bluetoothd
3. Enter your admin password.
4. Finally, reset your Mac.

https://cleanmymac.com/blog/mac-mini-m1-bluetooth-issues

it's how bluetooth works really

same with you can see all wifi networks in your area under wifi networks

if a bluetooth devices is in pairing/discovery mode and you don't already have it added it will show up in your list

even if it's a device you can do nothing with, there are great many bluetooth devices and their roles are called bluetooth profiles, List of Bluetooth profiles - Wikipedia

non to very few devices reallys upport all profiles, but would still see the bluetooth device even if it only offers profiles it can't use.

This is expected behaviour. While there are many activities that require Bluetooth to be turned on, they do not require pairing in the traditional sense. What are you hoping to accomplish?