Bluetooth 5.0 is an upcoming standard that is going to be announced next week on June 16, according to an e-mail sent by Bluetooth SIG Executive Director Mark Powell. This particular standard is going to be far better than Bluetooth 4.2 in terms of range, performance and efficiency, which is always expected from an improved iteration of that particular technology.
According to details from Ars Technica, several companies such as Apple and Intel have backed the Bluetooth consortium for a significantly long period in the hopes that a newer standard could be introduced that will be better in every way. 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. This important detail is going to be told on June 16.
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. Similarly, during October 2015, when Apple announced its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, no one would have thought that the company would be adding Bluetooth 4.2 support the following devices:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPad Air 2
This update allowed users to experience nearly 2.5 times the speed difference when transferring data. Bluetooth 5 will be essential for allowing users to listen to media through their wireless earbuds of headphones while connected to their mobile devices. With the added efficiency advantage, looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of more wireless earbuds now, and since smartphones have started to be released without a 3.5mm headphone jack, it is only a matter of time before such ports cease to exist.