Bluetooth 5 Announced: Offers 2x Bandwidth & 4x Range Over Bluetooth 4

It feels like we’ve been talking about Bluetooth 4 devices forever, so it’s a little exciting that we can share news today that Bluetooth 5 is finally on its way. It might be a couple of years before it’s the de facto BT solution in place, but if you typically buy higher-end smartphones or other devices, there’s a fair chance that you’ll get to experience BT 5 within the next year.

According to the Bluetooth overlords, Bluetooth SIG, BT 5 will be twice as fast as BT 4, and offer four times the capable range. Beyond that, the broadcast size has increased eightfold, so overall, there’s quite a lot to like.

Despite how popular Bluetooth is, I’ve never been a fan of it because of its limitations. Too often I’d have to resync peripherals even though I am in the same room, and wireless audio? Best of luck! The thing is, though, BT as a whole isn’t a bad tech – its limitations are the problem. With Bluetooth 5, those limitations could whittle down to almost nothing.

That’s actually something Bluetooth SIG had considered. We’re quickly moving into a life where we have Internet of Things devices all over, and those will either use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Whatever they use, though, they’ll introduce the risk of causing interference. Bluetooth 5 has been specifically designed to handle these sorts of situations well, so again, that above complaint of instability is another one that could disappear with this launch.

While new standards are worth getting excited over, seeing those land into consumer products is rarely a quick process. As touched on before, we’re not likely to see BT 5 flood the market for a couple of years, although beginning next fall, it seems likely that most high-end smartphones released will include it.

One thing’s for sure: Bluetooth 5 can’t get here soon enough.