Reimagining Wireless Communication
The Bluetooth SIG member community continues to expand the capabilities of Bluetooth® technology — powering innovation, creating new markets, and redefining what’s possible in wireless communication.
Here are some of the more recent enhancements introduced to Bluetooth technology.
Bluetooth® LE Audio
Building on 20 years of innovation, LE Audio will enhance the performance of Bluetooth audio, add support for hearing aids, and introduce Bluetooth® Audio Sharing, an innovative new Bluetooth use case with the potential to once again change the way we experience audio and connect with the world around us.
Bluetooth® Direction Finding
Introduced in January 2019, Direction Finding enables devices to determine the direction of a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) signal. Supporting both angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) methods of signal direction estimation, this feature allows Bluetooth proximity solutions to add directional capabilities that enhance the user experience and Bluetooth positioning systems to achieve centimeter-level accuracy, enabling Bluetooth technology to address the full spectrum of positioning use cases, from common, low-resolution systems to the most precise.
Bluetooth® Mesh Networking
Introduced in July 2017, mesh networking enables the creation of large-scale device networks. It is ideally suited for control, monitoring, and automation systems where hundreds or thousands of devices need to communicate with one another. Created to meet the strict reliability, scalability, and security requirements of commercial and industrial use cases, Bluetooth mesh has quickly become a leading standard for networked lighting control systems, enabling buildings to operate more efficiently and enhance the occupant experience.
Bluetooth® High Speed
Introduced in December 2016, the LE 2M PHY doubles the data rate that can be achieved between Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices from the original LE 1M PHY. The LE 2M PHY improves data transfer performance and provides greater spectral efficiency for the growing number of IoT devices that consumers are connecting to their smartphones, including sports and fitness wearables as well as Bluetooth medical devices that need to transmit critical information or administer medication more frequently and with greater accuracy. In return for a doubling of data rate, the LE 2M PHY can achieve a range of approximately eighty percent of the original LE 1M PHY.
Bluetooth® Long Range
Introduced in December 2016, the LE Coded PHY quadruples the range that can be achieved between Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices from the original LE 1M PHY, enabling automation systems capable of providing whole home or building coverage. By applying Forward Error Correction (FEC) to Bluetooth transmissions, the LE Coded PHY increases the achievable range without increasing transmit power and allows data recovery at the receiver without the need for retransmission. The LE Coded PHY includes two coding schemes; S=2, which doubles the range while supporting a data rate of 500 kb/s, and S=8, which quadruples the range while supporting a data rate of 125 kb/s.
Bluetooth® Extended Advertising
Introduced in December 2016, Extended Advertising added a new approach to advertising on Bluetooth LE designed to dramatically improve both efficiency and reliability when broadcasting large amounts of data. With this introduction, LE Advertising now supports two modes of operation; Legacy Advertising (the original mode) and Extended Advertising. Key highlights of Extended Advertising include increasing the maximum size of advertising data from 31 bytes to 254 bytes, offloading the transmission of advertising data to the 37 data channels, as well as synchronizing the transmission of advertising data between sending and receiving devices.
Related Resources
Enabling The Future Of Placemaking At The West Kowloon Cultural District
Pointr worked with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority team to enable the future…
Adapting Digital Keys for Commercial Access Control, Car Sharing, and More
Out of all the various Bluetooth® solution areas, Bluetooth Location Services has been one…
The 3 Updates Application Developers Need To Know About Bluetooth®︎ Core Specification Version 5.3
Developers have more flexibility and configuration options than ever with the Bluetooth Special Interest…
Intelligent Mobility Solution for E-Motorcycles Achieves True PEPS
Mobility as a service (MaaS) is shifting from a hot concept to becoming an…
Tile is working with Lenovo to help you find your lost laptop
Announced at CES 2022, Tile and Lenovo are teaming up to make ThinkPad X1s…
The new Chipolo Card Spot puts Apple’s Find My network in your wallet
Chipolo has a new Bluetooth tracker it’s announcing at CES 2022, a new version…
The Bluetooth Technology for Linux Developers Study Guide
Linux has been around in various forms for about 30 years, and the kernel…
Introducing Bluetooth® LE Audio
Now available for free digital download, get your copy of this in-depth, technical overview of the LE Audio specifications.
Use Cases and Benefits of Location Services in the Smart Building
In the B-to-B context, one will easily relate a smart building into an office…
Bluetooth® Technology for Linux Developers
Learn how to use the interprocess communication system D-Bus and the BlueZ APIs to create Bluetooth applications for Linux computers.
7 AirTag tricks: Find lost stuff, return found items and more
CNET examines how Apple’s AirTags can easily help you track down lost items using…
Smart Hospital Wayfinding
This case study shares a real-world example of how Cisco has partnered with Pointr…
A Preview of the Next Generation Assistive Listening System
Watch Chuck Sabin outline the key use cases Bluetooth® Audio Sharing will enable and…
The Need for Inclusion & Audio Accessibility for All
Watch Linda Kozma-Spytek, Senior Research Audiologist in the Technology Access Program, and co-director of…
Meeting Energy-Saving Needs of Today and Beyond with Bluetooth® Mesh
How can building owners and facilities managers make future-proofing decisions today that will enable…
Getting Started With Bluetooth For High Precision Indoor Positioning
This white paper provides an introduction to Bluetooth high precision indoor positioning, explores what…
The 2021 State of Sound Report
The State of Sound Report is an annual study featuring research insights based on…
Mobile Access Senior Living White Paper
How advanced access technologies are working to equip senior citizens, their communities and facilities…
Achieving Room-Level Medical Device Tracking Using Bluetooth Low Energy Solutions
For healthcare providers, improving quality of care, reducing costs, and increasing patient satisfaction are…
Disneyland Resort App Offers Even More Magic, More Convenience at Your Fingertips
Earlier this spring, the Disneyland Resort introduced a new online check-in service for our…
SmartShepherd Improves Scalability For Their Smart Farming IoT Applications With Cassia’s Bluetooth Gateways
Learn how SmartShepherd partnered with Cassia Networks to enable real-time tracking and monitoring of…
2021 Bluetooth Market Update
Supported by updated forecasts from ABI Research and insights from several other analyst firms, the Bluetooth Market Update highlights the latest Bluetooth trends and forecasts.
How Bluetooth® Technology is Enabling Safe Return Strategies in a COVID-19 Era
This report shares insight into how Bluetooth® technology is being leveraged by organizations of all sizes to…
Designing and Developing Bluetooth® Internet Gateways
Learn about Bluetooth internet gateways, how to make them secure and scalable, and design and implement your own working prototype gateway and web application for use with either Bluetooth LE Peripherals or with Bluetooth mesh networks.
Bluetooth Market Research Note - Assistive Hearables
Bluetooth Market Research Notes provide in-depth analysis of trends and forecasts highlighted in the…
How to Deploy BlueZ on a Raspberry Pi Board as a Bluetooth Mesh Provisioner
This step-by-step study guide will teach you: How to rebuild the kernel on a…
Bluetooth Location Services
See 8 use cases for enhancing building efficiencies and creating a better visitor experience, discover new data that supports the latest trends and forecasts, and find out what’s driving the rapid adoption of location services solutions.
Overview – Bluetooth Technology
See how the global standard for simple, secure connection has expanded to meet the…