Bluetooth was introduced more than 20 years ago by Ericsson and was quickly adopted by the mass market, which was looking for a quick efficient way for short range communications. The mobile devices boom and the increasingly connected world, with all the other devices such as Smart TV’s, Smart Watches, Tablets and many more has made Bluetooth indispensable. And now Bluetooth just got better!
Introducing → Bluetooth 5.0!
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced yesterday that they have accepted and adopted the Bluetooth 5 specifications, and that they expect it to be in devices in the next 6 months.
Highlights of Bluetooth 5.0
Range increased 4X – connections are now possible at 4x the previous range (Bluetooth 4.0 connection range was ~10 meters)
Speed increased 2X – Transfers can now happen at double the speed between compatible devices.
Data broadcast increased 8X – message capacity increased as much as 8 times.
Powering 10 Billion Devices Worldwide
Bluetooth 5 will help drive further development of the IoT by enabling reliable connections and easier adoption of beacon technology, Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, said yesterday in a statement. That, in turn, “will decrease connection barriers and enable a seamless IoT experience,” he added.
The longer range supported is expected to make it easier to enable seamless connectivity in homes and other building. Various new use cases and scenarios covering outdoor, industrial and commercial applications have been identified and will benefit from the 4x increase in range. However performance between various devices can vary greatly depending on many factors so it’s best to wait and see before drawing up any plans based on the advertised 4x range increase.
Bluetooth currently boasts of an installed base of more than 10 billion devices globally, and this is expected to increase to 14 billion by 2020.