Bluetooth 5 is here, promising to drive IoT adoption

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has just announced the fifth version of its wireless protocol. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology is likely to gain considerably from the new upgrade.

Bluetooth 5 is touted to be twice as fast for low-power applications than the preceding version. The speed of the latest Bluetooth standard could be as fast as 2Mbps. The new technology supposedly covers four times broader range, which could be an entire house or at least a floor of a building.

Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, believes that Bluetooth 5 opens up new possibilities for

IoT devices.

“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 and secure connectivity,” he said.

The concepts of smart homes and connected home automation products are still in the nascent stage. But home automation with Bluetooth 5 is predicted to become a lot easier. It would also enhance smartphones of the present age. However, it will take two to three years for all mobile devices to feature Bluetooth 5.

BLE devices have already outnumbered the Bluetooth enabled products. The fifth-generation technology is expected to boost this growth further and drive the adoption of BLE devices even higher. The new speed and range for BLE will help enterprises use BLE-powered beacons for location. A high rise in the adoption of BLE products is expected to continue to help users broadcast data.