Bluetooth 5 Coming to an Internet Thing Near You

By Ken Brown

Bluetooth5After teasing the collective tech community back in the summer, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) recently announced that the Bluetooth 5 standards have been adopted. Much has changed in the 10 years since Bluetooth was first introduced when the Group promised users a secure wireless technology with faster speeds and longer ranges than had previously been seen for small, portable mobile devices.


So whats new in Bluetooth 5, you ask? Well, the first thing is that Bluetooth technology is now faster. Faster, along with better range. The updated Bluetooth 5 will now have twice the speed and four times the range of Bluetooth 4.2 with speeds of up to 2MBps (Megabits per second), making it very capable of carrying data content to low energy devices such as headphones, smartwatches, and other Internet of Things (IoT).

Bluetooth 5 Features

Higher speed enables more responsive, high-performance devices. Increased broadcast message size increases the data sent for improved and more context relevant solutions, the Bluetooth SIG said. Bluetooth will continue to embrace the technological advancements and push the unlimited potential of IOT.

Not only should users see improvement with device pairing and higher data transfer rates, but Bluetooth 5 will not suffer the effects of outside interference from other wireless devices using LTE and Wi-Fi spectrums. In fact, Bluetooth 5 will be better at avoiding congestion making other wireless devices no matter what the spectrum work better.

It is a bit too early to see if Bluetooth 5 will make a better shopping experience at Costco or Amazon Go, and it shouldnt be too long before we can see devices outfitted with Bluetooth 5 technology. The Bluetooth SIG estimates that devices made for Bluetooth 5 will hit shelves at the beginning of the year and no later than the summer. Rumors are already circulating that the next-generation Apple iPhone will feature the new and improved BT5 standard. We also are expected to see an separate update for Bluetooth Audio in 2018.