As we did mention earlier in June, the Bluetooth SIG has now announced the new version of one of the most used technology to get data shared over short distances
This press release describes the new version of the technology, not going to far into details. The new 5.0 will be coming late 2016 to early 2017, and will include significantly increased range, speed, and broadcast messaging capacity. Extending range will deliver robust, reliable IoT connections that make full-home and building and outdoor use cases a reality. Higher speeds will send data faster and optimize responsiveness. Increasing broadcast capacity will propel the next generation of “connectionless” services like beacons and location-relevant information and navigation.
Mentioning technical stuff, it’ll also quadruple range and double speed of low energy connections while increasing the capacity of connectionless data broadcasts by 800 percent.
The question is, will we get it? I’m afraid that we won’t until mid/late 2017. Our devices all have Bluetooth antennas you’ll say, but this is not something you can replace pushing an update to various firmwares. Plus, if the Bluetooth SAG said that this won’t come until late 2016 to early 2017, don’t expect any new device right after v5.0 reaches the production stage, because OEMs have to implement the new technology, both hardware and software.
But don’t worry, I can tell the latest v4.2 LE is good doing its job!
