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Bluetooth 5 With 4x Longer Range and 2x Faster Speed is Officially Approved

Wednesday December 7, 2016 5:13 pm PST by Juli Clover
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group today announced that the Bluetooth 5 standard has been officially adopted, which means manufacturers are now able to build it into their devices.

The next-generation Bluetooth standard offers longer range, faster speed, a larger broadcast message capacity, and better interoperability with other wireless technologies.

bluetooth5
Compared to existing Bluetooth 4.2 protocol, Bluetooth 5 offers four times the range, two times the speed, and eight times the broadcast message capacity, bringing whole home coverage and more reliable connections between connected devices.
"This means whole-home and building coverage, as well as new use cases for outdoor, industrial, and commercial applications will be a reality. With the launch of Bluetooth 5, we continue to evolve to meet the needs of IoT developers and consumers while staying true to what Bluetooth is at its core: the global wireless standard for simple, secure, connectivity."
With the debut of Bluetooth 5, SIG's Bluetooth naming convention will drop all references to version and point number going forward, simplifying marketing.

Devices that adopt Bluetooth 5 will be available within two to six months, meaning the next-generation products Apple plans to debut in 2017, including the iPhone 8, may offer Bluetooth 5 support.

Tags: Bluetooth, Bluetooth 5
[ 137 comments ]


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_Refurbished_
20 months ago
Analysts are reporting that Apple is going to create their own standard called Firetooth C. Firetooth C will require a dongle to be used, even though it's a wireless technology. More will be revealed at this year's Macworld conference.
Rating: 53 Votes
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JPLC
20 months ago
Time to drop WiFi for Apple. Lets call it courage, right?
Rating: 47 Votes
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Appleaker
20 months ago
I can't wait to see the improvements in Bluetooth accessories... especially wireless audio.
Rating: 27 Votes
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Amacfa
20 months ago
So that's why the AirPods were delayed!
Rating: 22 Votes
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ksnell
20 months ago

Too bad my brand new MBP and iPhone 7 won't get it :(


Seriously? That's how technology works...
Rating: 21 Votes
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ErikGrim
20 months ago
Bluetooth - Next year it will be better.

- Gruber
Rating: 18 Votes
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Schwyz
20 months ago
I hear Apple will be selling an adapter for a mere $419.99
Rating: 16 Votes
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FinderMinder
20 months ago

With the debut of Bluetooth 5, SIG's Bluetooth naming convention will drop all references to version and point number going forward, simplifying marketing.


Hmm...



Rating: 12 Votes
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Romy90210
20 months ago
Apple will add this to their products in 2025....
Rating: 12 Votes
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Aditya_S
20 months ago

Time to drop WiFi for Apple. Lets call it courage, right?

You know, I can see Apple dropping WiFi and replacing it with LiFi when WiFi is still mainstream and then there's going to be some WiFi Adapter that you can plug into the Lightning port to be able to connect to WiFi.
Rating: 11 Votes

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