Bluetooth 5 to be Launched Soon - Dispatch Weekly

Business

June 19, 2016 - Reading time: 2 minutes

The next-generation Bluetooth – Bluetooth 5 – has been officially announced and it will be release in late 2016 to early 2017 offering users with much faster transfers over increased range.

Internet of Things (IoT) will receive a huge boost with Bluetooth 5 thanks to the latter’s increasing broadcast capabilities. According to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the latest version of Bluetooth will help propel the next generation of “connectionless” services like beacons and location-relevant information and navigation.

Bluetooth 5 has been developed with IoT as a major focus area giving people the opportunity to experience IoT simply and seamlessly. One of the key things in Bluetooth 5 is the increased operation range and this effectively gives IoT devices the capabilities to talk to other devices on roads and nearby homes while increasing speed supports faster data transfers and software updates for devices.

Bluetooth 5, projected for release in late 2016 to early 2017, will quadruple range and double speed of low energy connections while increasing the capacity of connectionless data broadcasts by 800 percent. It achieves all this alongside its industry-leading power performance. With the major boost in broadcast messaging capacity, the data being transferred will be richer, more intelligent. This will redefine the way Bluetooth devices transmit information, moving away from the app-paired-to-device model to a connectionless IoT where there is less need to download an app or connect the app to a device.

More than 371 million Bluetooth enabled beacons are projected to ship by 2020, according to Patrick Connolly, Principal Analyst at ABI Research. With eight times the broadcast messaging capacity, Bluetooth 5 will further propel the adoption and deployment of beacons and location-based services in the home automation, enterprise, and industrial markets. In scenarios where contextual awareness like navigation and pin-point location are crucial – such as hassle-free airport navigation experiences, asset tracking of warehouse inventory, emergency response, even smart city infrastructure that helps the visually impaired be more mobile – Bluetooth 5 will send custom information people actually find useful in that moment without connection and application barriers.

DW Staff

David Lintott is the Editor-in-Chief, leading our team of talented freelance journalists. He specializes in covering culture, sport, and society. Originally from the decaying seaside town of Eastbourne, he attributes his insightful world-weariness to his roots in this unique setting.

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