Bluetooth 5 has been announced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and will be coming between the later months of 2016 to early 2017. There are several advantages of Bluetooth 5 that include significantly increased range, speed, and broadcast messaging capacity. Extending range will deliver robust, reliable Internet of Things (IoT) connections that make full-home and building and outdoor use cases a reality.
According to the official announcement post, this is what Bluetooth 5 is going to bring to the table:
“Bluetooth 5 will transform the way people experience the IoT by making it something that happens simply and seamlessly around them. Increasing operation range will enable connections to IoT devices that extend far beyond the walls of a typical home, while increasing speed supports faster data transfers and software updates for devices. And now with the ability to broadcast a much richer set of information, Bluetooth 5 will make beacons, location awareness, and other connectionless services an even more relevant part of an effortless and seamless IoT experience”
Bluetooth 5 will possess quadruple the range and double the speed of low energy connections while increasing the capacity of connectionless data broadcasts by 800 percent. It achieves all of the aforementioned elements which consuming less power, which is something that mobile devices will require thanks to their hefty battery life consumption.
Unfortunately, there is no way to determine at this current time if Bluetooth 5 will be capable of being updated to mobile devices featuring a Bluetooth chip through a firmware update or will you actually have to purchase new hardware in order to experience better efficiency, range and performance from this standard.
Since there was no mention of this important, consumers might have to upgrade their devices in order to bear witness of the benefits presented by Bluetooth 5. Previous standards such as Bluetooth 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 devices were not upgradeable to newer versions, but in came Bluetooth 4.0, which could be easily upgraded to Bluetooth 4.1 through a software update, so if something along the lines is introduced, then it will really be a welcome advancement.