14 DAY TRIAL // Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) is currently working on the next Bluetooth release, which will debut on June 16 during an event held in London. The company has finally settled on the name for the upcoming version and made some clarifications on what to expect.
Bluetooth SIG has decided to call the upcoming release Bluetooth 5. Executive Director Mark Powell has pointed out that the company decided to drop the reference for both the version and point number in order to communicate user benefits in a more efficient manner and to highlight significant updates in the product.
The new Bluetooth 5 will double the range and quadruple the speed of low energy Bluetooth transmissions. This would mean an increase to 200m and four megabits per second. About one megabit per second will be available for applications. The last major version, Bluetooth 4.0, arrived almost six years ago.
Bluetooth 5 to bring significant new functionality
Mark Powell has also mentioned that the Bluetooth 5 will come with “significant new functionality for connectionless services like location-relevant information and navigation.” At the same time, the new technology is said to contribute to the adoption and deployment of location-based services to users from all countries.
In the statement, he further detailed the company’s accomplishments for this year, including the new company logo and tagline “Unthinkably Connected.” The company has also organized several events in the past six months and launched the Specification Workspace, which lets certain users view the status of specification projects.
The company will also be holding several events in major cities around the world, between June 9 and until October 14. However, the event on June 16 will be the main highlight for the company, since it’s expected to announce more details on the upcoming Bluetooth 5.