The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) has made the new version of the technology ready for adoption by manufacturers all over the world.

Part of the vast improvements included in Bluetooth 5 is doubled bandwidth, extended range by four times and expanded broadcast message capacity by eight times, as compared to Bluetooth 4.2. These improvements will prove useful for smart appliances and the Internet of Things (IoT).

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Aside from a longer range for Bluetooth headphones for users, the latest edition of the technology would not have an adverse effect on sound quality, particularly for audio playback and voice calls. Higher speed would also enable devices to be more responsive at high-performance levels.

Bluetooth 5 has also been updated to reduce potential interference with other wireless technologies, ensuring Bluetooth devices' coexistence within the complex global IoT environment. Developers utilizing this technology need not worry about problems with updating their software as Bluetooth 5 support all of these new capabilities while maintaining its low-energy functionality and flexibility to meet the needs of devices and applications.

The adoption of Bluetooth 5 to the current level of technology utilized by consumers today comes at a crucial time in industry growth as, according to ABI Research, about 48 billion internet-enabled devices are expected to be installed and utilized by 2021, approximately one-third of which will include Bluetooth utilization.

Andrew Zignani with ABI Research stated that "The global wireless connectivity market is growing rapidly, with an anticipated 10 billion annual IC shipments by 2021," and that "The introduction of Bluetooth 5 will create new opportunities in various verticals of the IoT market by reducing complexity and cost and giving manufacturers greater flexibility in targeting multiple applications and use cases."

The SIG expects the first range of Bluetooth 5 equipped products to be available to the public by early next year.