Smart ideas RANGE & SPEED

Wi-Fi took a big step forward this month with the arrival of the first superfast 802.11ad router, and now it looks like Bluetooth is due for an update as well.

Bluetooth provides a quick and easy way of connecting just two devices at a time, such as your iPhone and speakers, or an Apple Watch. It has quite limited range, though, and its signal is easily blocked by walls and other obstacles, which can limit it to use within just a single room when you’re indoors.

Bluetooth 5, due at the start of 2017, could change all that. The technology developers at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, or SIG, are keeping quiet about exact figures, but they claim that Bluetooth 5 “will quadruple the range, and double the speed” of the current Bluetooth 4 standard. That will be great for many devices, not least future sport watches and sensors like those we’ve looked at this month, and it’ll give you more freedom to move around while using your devices at home or in the great outdoors.