Bluetooth playlist. Watch these video to understand more on Bluetooth Connectivity.
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Bluetooth enables devices to communicate wirelessly, and while this primary function has remained the same, the technology has seen numerous enhancements.
Bluetooth 1.0 - 1.2 (1999)
Bluetooth 2.0 - 2.1 (2005)
Bluetooth 3.0 (2009)
Bluetooth 4.0 - 4.2 (2010)
Bluetooth 5.0 - 5.3 (2016-present)
For a better idea of how each Bluetooth version stacks up,
Speed
Range
Compatibility
Power requirement
Reliability
The transfer speeds of Bluetooth 1 were understandably slow, but with the introduction of Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), later versions of Bluetooth significantly improved speeds.
Bluetooth 4.0 has a maximum speed of 25 Mbps, while Bluetooth 5.0 doubles that to 50 Mbps with EDR (Enhanced Data Rate). The increase of bandwidth enables faster data sharing, reduced lag and quicker response times between devices. Regarding their Low Energy transmission rates, Bluetooth 4.0 and 5.0 reach maximum speeds of 1 and 2 Mbps, respectively.
The operating range is another factor that has seen significant improvements. Previous Bluetooth versions typically operated within a range of 10-30 meters, making them best suited for short-range data transfers.
However, this range dramatically increased with Bluetooth 4.0 and 5.0. Bluetooth 4.0 extends up to 60 meters (10 meters indoors), while the Bluetooth 5.0 maintains connections up to 240 meters (40 meters indoors). This expanded connection range is particularly beneficial for wireless headphones, allowing you to enjoy your music from a greater distance away from the audio source, with fewer audio dropouts.
As mentioned earlier, Bluetooth 5 is backward-compatible with lower Bluetooth versions, allowing you to easily use Bluetooth 4.2 headphones with a 5.0 phone. However, the downside is that you can only fully utilize the Bluetooth features with the lower version. Similarly, you can only access Bluetooth 5 features if both devices run that version.
An example of these features is Dual Audio, which enables you to connect two pairs of headphones to a single phone or play music from one phone on two different speakers. Unfortunately, Dual Audio is limited to Bluetooth 5 devices. Therefore, you can’t use this feature when paired with a Bluetooth 4.2 device.
If your audio device only supports version 4.2, it's still practical to choose headphones with the same version. This can help you save money, especially if you don’t plan to upgrade your devices anytime soon. On the other hand, if you want to fully utilize the features of your 5.0 phone, it's best to upgrade your peripherals to Bluetooth 5.
Previous versions of Bluetooth consumed significant power due to their constant "on" state. Unsurprisingly, this had a negative impact on battery life, particularly with Bluetooth 3, which was the first to offer high-speed data transfers.
Everything changed with the introduction of Bluetooth Low Energy. The new technology comes with several low-power and sleep modes. As a result, smaller devices can conserve power by entering sleep mode and awakening as necessary. Despite these advancements, Bluetooth 4's performance still falls within the mid-high range.
Bluetooth 5 has further improved by boosting its data transmission rate and range. Consequently, devices now require even less power to send and receive data, thereby prolonging battery life.
Earlier versions of Bluetooth had a shorter range and less stringent encryption protocols, leading to safety and reliability issues in congested settings. However, reliability improved with newer Bluetooth versions. For instance, Bluetooth 4's lower message capacity of 37 octets increased to 255 in Bluetooth 5, resulting in more efficient data transmission and reduced broadcast time. Additionally, signal reliability improved due to adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) and Slot Availability Mask (SAM). AFH enables the primary Bluetooth device to map out working and non-working channels, while SAM determines when an LTE channel is busy transmitting data. Together, they help Bluetooth devices avoid faulty channels and reduce signal interference, speeding up data transmission, which is ideal for congested industrial environments.