Many of us likely have a Bluetooth-based device in our home, be it a wireless speaker or headset for our phone. But as the Internet of Things takes off, Bluetooth technology needs to keep pace, so a big update is planned for 2016.
According to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), next-gen Bluetooth technology will have longer range, higher speeds, and mesh networking to support the IoT, from smart homes and cars to location-based services and smart infrastructure.
Toby Nixon, SIG chairman, said there is "a significant demand" to enhance Bluetooth. So be on the lookout for four times better range and a 100 percent increase in speed without increasing energy consumption. This, the group said, will allow for faster data transfers for things like medical devices, helping to increase responsiveness and lower latency.
"Bluetooth has been adopted by countless developers and manufacturers as their connectivity solution of choice for the IoT," SIG Executive Director Mark Powell said. "The new functionality we will soon be adding will further solidify Bluetooth as the backbone of IoT technology."
It will need that sturdy backbone. Gartner this week estimated that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide next year, growing to a whopping 20.8 billion by 2020. It will also make up $235 billion in services spending next year.
"Aside from connected cars, consumers will continue to account for the greatest number of connected things, while enterprise will account for the largest spending," Gartner Vice President Jim Tully said.