On June 16, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) will formally announce the next version of Bluetooth called “Bluetooth 5” at the Discover Blue media event in London. In this name they have dropped reference to both the version and point number. This new naming approach is focused on simplifying their marketing, communicating user benefits more effectively and making it easier to signal significant technology updates to the market. This wireless standard is getting a major upgrade from Bluetooth 4.2.
On the technical side, Bluetooth 5 has a lot to offer, with double the range and quadruple the speed of low energy Bluetooth transmissions. Bluetooth 5 will also provide significant new functionality for connectionless services like location-relevant information and navigation. By adding significantly more capacity to advertising transmissions, Bluetooth 5 will further propel the adoption and deployment of beacons and location-based services to users around the world.
Mark Powell, Executive Director, Bluetooth SIG recently talked about Bluetooth 5 in a statement and discussed the future roadmap of SIG, focusing squarely on increasing their Internet of Things (IoT) functionality. The host of Bluetooth advancements coming in 2016 will further energize fast-growing industries such as smart home, industrial automation, location-based services and smart infrastructure.
