The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) says that it will soon announce Bluetooth 5, which will be a huge update from the current Bluetooth 4.2 standard. The update will see it become twice as fast as the current standard, offer up to four times the operating range, and looks to usher in new location-based services. Previously, Bluetooth 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 devices were not upgradeable to newer versions of the standard, but Bluetooth 4.0 devices could be upgraded to Bluetooth 4.1 via software patches.
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If you own a fitness tracker, portable speaker, or pair of wireless headphones, you’re already familiar with Bluetooth, the wireless standard that lets you connect such cable-free devices to a smartphone, laptop, and the like. Now, the above logo is nearly always present next to the clock on our smartphones, and while it’s a standard that’s often updated every now and then, few major advancements end up finding their way into the Bluetooth standard.
In essence, all of this should make Bluetooth a little more capable of keeping up with smart homes, the Internet of Things, and the generally increasing amount of connected devices people use. It also adds “significantly more capacity to advertising transmissions”, which is more exciting than it sounds because it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what you normally think of when you think of “advertising”.
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Expect indoor navigation to get a lot better with Bluetooth 5 equipment. This has traditionally been the case for significant Bluetooth releases in the past. Especially with major upgrades, like what’s expected yet again with the upcoming release of Bluetooth 5 specifications. Full details are expected to be revealed during a media event in London on June 16.
