Bluetooth 5.0 – Yes, Version 5 – Primer | #IoT #IoTuesday

Bluetooth 5 has been with us in commercial products for about a year now, so a lot of users are still realizing it’s a thing – either in their device or conceptually something to take advantage of in their IoT design. Mindtribe breaks it down:

A Primer on Bluetooth 5.0: Everything You Need to Know Before Integrating Your IoT Product

Picture yourself going to the store to buy a new phone, speaker, headphones, or a mood ring and you notice it supports Bluetooth 4.2. “Hey!” you think to yourself, “this device only supports old, crummy Bluetooth! Where is that new hot Bluetooth I’ve heard so much about? Isn’t it way better or something?”

After wondering what the difference really is, you end up buying AirPods instead because they say they support Bluetooth 5. This isn’t necessarily the wrong choice – AirPods are pretty fantastic! – but Bluetooth 5 is neither as magical nor as mysterious as you might think. In fact, it’s quite familiar.

First, a quick primer on Bluetooth until now. Major Bluetooth versions can be stratified into 3 categories:

  1. 1.X and 2.X are Bluetooth Classic
  2. Bluetooth 3 seems to be its own thing
  3. Bluetooth 4.X and 5.X are the “Low Energy” family – now known as just Bluetooth or Bluetooth 5.

Read more here.


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