Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Bluetooth SIG has released the Bluetooth 6.0 Core Specification.
- This spec introduces Bluetooth Channel Sounding, which allows true distance awareness between Bluetooth devices. It also introduces smaller upgrades for lower latency and more.
- However, devices with Bluetooth 6.0 will take some time to develop and become available for purchase in the market.
Bluetooth has become ubiquitous, and we take it for granted these days. It is on our phones, laptops, earbuds, item trackers, and other accessories. Any improvements to the Bluetooth spec can potentially transform a big chunk of the mobile landscape, though adopting the latest standard takes some time. The Bluetooth standard is now being updated to v6.0, bringing improvements like true distance awareness, lower latency in certain cases, and more.
Bluetooth SIG has released Bluetooth 6.0 Core Specification, and the biggest talking point here is the Bluetooth Channel Sounding feature. This introduces true distance awareness to the spec, which has great potential for item trackers. Bluetooth Channel Sounding enables secure, fine ranging between devices. It makes it possible to create products that can calculate the distance between two Bluetooth devices with significantly better accuracy than before.
Item trackers have augmented their precise location needs with extra tech such as UWB, but Channel Sounding on Bluetooth 6.0 presents itself as a viable alternative, though it differs in its working. Consequently, item trackers that are part of Find My Device solutions will be located faster and easier with Bluetooth 6.0. Channel sounding also adds a security layer for unlocking doors and other secure areas.
Beyond item tracking, Bluetooth 6.0 also enhances ISOAL (Isochronous Adaptation Layer). ISOAL allows larger data frames to be transmitted in smaller packets and reconstituted later. A new framing mode introduced in this spec reduces latency and improves reliability.
Other changes introduced in Bluetooth 6.0 include Decision-based Advertising Filtering, an extended feature set for link-layer, and advertiser monitoring and frame space improvements.
If you were looking for improvements related to higher data transmission rates for lossless audio, you would not find them here in this spec announcement. So, for the most part, Bluetooth 6.0 helps improve item trackers more than it does for earbuds. You will still have to wait a while for compliant and compatible products to be developed and launched in the market, but at least the future is bright with this announcement.
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