Like any wireless communication standard, Bluetooth has continued to evolve and improve by the generation, bringing with it new capabilities, range and speeds. Bluetooth 5 is no exception.
Bluetooth 5 is an evolution from its predecessor, Bluetooth 4.2, designed to meet the growing demands of smart home devices and smart buildings in particular; growing markets as evidenced by recent interviews with industry experts – such as with Mohammad Aghababaie, Co-Founder and CEO of Hubbcast.
Bluetooth 5 – improvements
The marked improvements from Bluetooth 4.2 to Bluetooth 5, extended range, increased speed, enhanced broadcasting capabilities and improved coexistence.
- Extended range: One of the most notable improvements in Bluetooth 5 is its extended range. Bluetooth 5 can achieve up to four times the range of Bluetooth 4.2, reaching distances of up to 240 metres in ideal conditions. This improvement is particularly beneficial for IoT applications, where devices are often spread across large areas, such as in smart homes or industrial settings. The increased range is achieved through a new modulation scheme, known as LE Coded PHY, which sacrifices data rate for greater distance, allowing devices to maintain reliable connections over longer distances.
- Increased speeds: Bluetooth 5 approximately doubles the data transfer speed compared with Bluetooth 4.2, achieving speeds of up to 2 Mbps using the LE 2M PHY. Applications that require fast data transmission, such as streaming audio or video are ultimately benefited.
- Enhanced broadcasting capabilities: Another upgrade in Bluetooth 5 is its enhanced broadcasting capabilities. Bluetooth 5 increases the advertising data capacity by eight times compared to Bluetooth 4.2. This means that devices can broadcast richer and more detailed information in each transmission, which is particularly useful for beacon technology and location-based services. The ability to broadcast more data with less frequent transmissions also contributes to improved power efficiency, a key consideration for battery-powered devices.
- Improved coexistence with other wireless technologies: Bluetooth 5 includes features that improve its coexistence with other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi. In environments where multiple wireless signals are present, Bluetooth 5’s adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) allows it to avoid channels with high interference, ensuring more reliable connections. This improvement is essential in crowded wireless environments like smart homes.
When designing a new product with Bluetooth 5, there are design challenges that engineers must address in order to take full advantage of the technology’s benefits.
- Antenna design: The extended range and increased speed of Bluetooth 5 necessitate careful consideration of antenna design. Antenna efficiency directly impacts the performance of Bluetooth-enabled devices, particularly in terms of range and data rate. Engineers must ensure that the antenna is optimised for the frequencies used by Bluetooth 5, typically around the 2.4 GHz band. Additionally, the physical placement of the antenna within the device can affect performance.
- Power management: Power efficiency remains a critical concern for the design of Bluetooth-enabled devices, especially for battery-operated wireless products. While Bluetooth 5 includes features that enhance power efficiency, such as the ability to send more data in fewer transmissions, engineers must carefully manage power consumption in their designs. This involves selecting the appropriate operating mode – such as low energy (LE) mode – and optimising the device’s duty cycle to balance performance with battery life.
- Compatibility with older standards: Many consumers and industries still rely on devices that operate on older versions of Bluetooth, so ensuring interoperability between generations is important. Engineers should design products that can dynamically switch between Bluetooth 5 and older standards as needed, which may involve incorporating multi-standard Bluetooth chips or ensuring that the software stack can handle connections across different versions.
- Regulatory compliance: Bluetooth 5 operates within the globally unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM band, which is subject to various regulatory requirements depending on the region. Engineers must ensure that their designs comply with relevant regulations, such as those set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in Europe. Compliance can involve adhering to guidelines on transmission power, spurious emissions, and spectrum usage.
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