Why do I need to turn on GPS for Android phones?

Android phones 6.0+ requires enabling location in order to use Bluetooth. The Android operating system requires this to search and sync with Bluetooth devices.
Ref: https://source.android.com/devices/bluetooth/ble
Note: BLE scanning requires your permission to enable location because BLE scanning identifies objects that could be used for geolocation. Turning off location will disable Bluetooth.