Bluetooth 6.0 Announced: What's New and Better?

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has unveiled Bluetooth 6.0, the first major update in eight years, introducing significant enhancements to wireless connectivity. This new version focuses on improving location accuracy, distance measurement, and power efficiency. While earlier versions primarily targeted speed and audio quality, Bluetooth 6.0 introduces advanced features like Bluetooth Channel Sounding, which uses phase-based ranging to deliver precise distance measurements between devices

Bluetooth 6.0 Features

The Bluetooth 6.0 comes with several new features that will improve the overall experience of users, here are some of them.

Bluetooth Channel Sounding

The most notable update is Bluetooth Channel Sounding, which enables precise distance measurement between devices through phase-based ranging. This enhanced accuracy will improve the functionality of services like Find My Device and bolster digital key solutions. With more accurate location data, devices can grant access based on proximity, offering more seamless and secure interactions within a specified range.

Monitoring Advertisers

Bluetooth 6.0 introduces support for Monitoring Advertisers, enabling devices to detect those within their Bluetooth range that are of interest. This feature conserves power by eliminating the need for continuous monitoring, as devices receive notifications through Host Controller Interface (HCI) events when another device moves in or out of range. This results in more efficient power usage and improved connectivity management.

Decision-Based Advertising Filtering

Bluetooth 6.0 introduces Decision-Based Advertising Filtering, a feature designed to further reduce power consumption. This update allows devices to filter and scan more efficiently, ensuring that secondary device scans only occur when necessary. Compatible devices will now wait for relevant information from the primary device before conducting additional scans, thus conserving battery life.

ISOAL Enhancement

The ISOAL (Isochronous Adaptation Layer) comes with a farming mode which reduces latency significantly and improves audio connectivity. So now gamers or people using wireless devices for conversations will be able to notice improvements in sound delay.