Bluetooth 5 is now available for manufacturers and developers to use in future devices. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) released the 5h gen as their latest version of the wireless technology this week.
Bluetooth 5 includes larger range, faster speed, improved coexistence with other wireless technologies, and bigger broadcast message capacity.
The technology continues to advance the Internet of Things (IoT) brand by enabling simple interactions across a vast range of internet-connected devices.
The days of Bluetooth being solely for a speaker of a smartwatch are gone as it will become more suitable for managing home devices and systems in the growing smart cities.
Executive Director of the Bluetooth SIG said the technology was revolutionizing how people experienced the IoT. He added Bluetooth 5 would break existing barriers making the connection between IoT devices more seamless.
What does Bluetooth 5 bring to the table?
Compared to the Bluetooth 4.2, the 5th version has four times the range, twice the speed up to 2Mbps, and eight times data transfer capacity.
More so, it will be the first time the Bluetooth technology can link with any wireless device, so it makes up for an ideal tool for controlling smart homes.
The new range can easily cover an entire house, while the faster speeds ensure no time waiting around for the devices to respond. Likely, the 800 percent increase in message capacity will help the Bluetooth 5 deliver a lot of data to many devices at the same time.
The technology will bring better quality audio, faster over-the-air firmware updates, and more useful Bluetooth beacon information. The new version is more power efficient than ever before. Lastly, Bluetooth 5 promises less interference caused by other close-by bandwidths.
The first products supporting Bluetooth’s fifth generation will arrive in early 2017
The company assures the launch of Bluetooth 5 is just another step forward to satisfy the demands of IoT developers and consumers without sacrificing the foundations of Bluetooth which is a global wireless standard for secure and simple connectivity.
Bluetooth wireless technology is a global community of 31,000 companies working to unify, harmonize and drive innovation in the broad range of connected devices.
The release of Bluetooth 5 comes when the IoT industry is booming. ABI Research firm expects 48 billion internet-enabled devices installed by 2021, and nearly one-third of them will include Bluetooth.
Their newest technology, the Bluetooth 5, will arrive as the standard feature of many devices early 2017. However, it will not replace Bluetooth 4.0 or 4.2 protocols, also marketed as Bluetooth LE, BLE, and Bluetooth Smart.
Source: Bluetooth
