In most practical uses, most people have resorted to either using WiFi -Direct or WhatsApp when it comes to sharing media from one phone to another, taking over the much popular Bluetooth technology. Next week, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) will announce the next version of the Bluetooth standard called Bluetooth 5, and it is expected to pack some much longer for features. Among these features is of this wireless standard is double the range and four times the speed of current low-energy Bluetooth transmissions. The Bluetooth SIG says it will also offer much more support for connectionless services — things like beacons that can help people navigate inside buildings or out in the open.
The development if Bluetooth 5 has mainly been backed by tech giants like Apple, Intel, and Microsoft and more details will be unveiled on June 16th in London. Unlike the previous version of Bluetooth that was dubbed Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), the group has this time chosen not to complicate things and simplify its marketing and make the wireless standard easier to understand for users. This version of Bluetooth comes at a time when most companies are pushing for more homes to get smarter and more connected, since many Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices depend on Bluetooth to connect to your control devices, and each other hence making it more important for faster and wider range coverage that Bluetooth 5 offers.
