Bluetooth 5 launched; brings higher speeds better range and a focus on IoT

Following its announcement back in June, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) has today revealed that the specification of the much-improved Bluetooth 5 technology has been finalised and is now available for manufacturers and developers to use in future devices.

The latest version of the ubiquitous wireless technology is said to offer twice the speed, four times the range and eight times the broadcast message capacity compared to Bluetooth 4.2. All of those advancements are firmly targeted at Bluetooth's increasing importance as a standard for smart appliances and the Internet of Things. The update also includes some fixes designed to limit its interference with other wireless technologies.

"Bluetooth is revolutionizing how people experience the IoT. Bluetooth 5 continues to drive this revolution by delivering reliable IoT connections and mobilizing the adoption of beacons, which in turn will decrease connection barriers and enable a seamless IoT experience," says Mark Powell, SIG's executive director.

"This means whole-home and building coverage, as well as new use cases for outdoor, industrial, and commercial applications will be a reality. With the launch of Bluetooth 5, we continue to evolve to meet the needs of IoT developers and consumers while staying true to what Bluetooth is at its core: the global wireless standard for simple, secure, connectivity."

Audio looks to be less of a focus this time, which is a bit surprising, given that smartphone manufacturers are rapidly pushing wireless headphone adoption by accelerating the end of the standard headphone jack on devices like the iPhone 7. This spec, however, is all about the internet of things. According to the official release, "Bluetooth continues to embrace technological advancements and push the unlimited potential of the IoT."

The SIG expects the first range of products equipped with Bluetooth 5 to hit the shelves early next year.


Source: Bluetooth

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Bluetooth 5 is coming: four times better speed, double range; launching on June 16

The next-gen Bluetooth standard version dubbed Bluetooth 5 is on its way with some significant improvements. Bluetooth Special Interest Group's Mark Powell announced that the fifth-generation of the omnipresent wireless standard is coming soon.

Bluetooth 5 is supposed to offer extended range and faster transfer rates than its predecessors with up to 2X the range and 4X the transfer speeds. This will make for quite the improvement in performance over what is currently available and may make Bluetooth a great way to transfer large files without any wired-connections.

Bluetooth 5 will also bring in new functionality for connection-less services such as location-relevant information and navigation. "By adding significantly more capacity to advertising transmissions, Bluetooth 5 will further propel the adoption and deployment of beacons and location-based services to users around the world," he writes.

An interesting new feature is the ability to employ larger "advertising packets". According to Bluetooth SIG's spec, an advertising packet has the ability to send info to devices even if they are not paired together. This information includes device identification like a name to be found by other devices. One of the most practical uses of this is if you just bought a Bluetooth speaker and want to pair your phone to it by finding the name of the speaker among all of the other Bluetooth devices that may be in range.

Also Check out: My Picks: Best Headphones for iPhone 7

One of the most important improvements, however, could come in Bluetooth audio, which could see a massive upgrade in quality. Current generation implementations aren’t bad, but they are not excellent either. With Bluetooth 5's promises of faster speeds and presumably higher bandwidth transfer capabilities, wireless audio could start rivaling what your audiophile friend’s equipment can produce, which would be a massive win for wireless audio solutions. Only time will tell, but it is about time wireless audio got an upgrade, and this is the perfect way to do so.

It is more than likely not possible to update current hardware to the Bluetooth 5 spec, as new Bluetooth versions usually require new hardware, but only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more details coming with the full Bluetooth 5 announcement next week.
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