The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the specs for its next release yesterday. The release should arrive in late 2016 or early 2017 with the name Bluetooth 5. The focus of Bluetooth 5 is to quadruple the range over current Bluetooth, double the speed, and increase data broadcasting capacity by 800%.
Previous releases of Bluetooth have decreased power consumption and increased capability. The new abilities in Bluetooth 5 will be crucial for upcoming technologies with IoT devices, beacon technology, location awareness, and accessories an improved experience. These improvements also come with a move away from paired-device model to a connectionless IoT where apps can communicate with nearby devices.
In addition to the improvements coming in the next generation of Bluetooth, the press release also announced that the Bluetooth SIG reached its 30,000th member company.
