Bluetooth Will Become All Things to all Users

September 11, 2016

Bluetooth has always been seen as the ubiquitous hand held device which is aimed at being all things to all users, but it has always had the drawback of not being very good at handling decent amounts of data. In a word it’s slow.

ABI Research have been looking into Bluetooth and consider that two developments currently being tested may move the device into its desired place as what ABI call the “Swiss Army Knife” of protocols, capable of all kinds of useful facilities.

Bluetooth SIG is moving forward with developments that include what they refer to as alternate MAC PHY – ‘AMP which will combine Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

This will give the device the option to automatically switch to Wi-Fi to move large files, then slip back to its regular Bluetooth mode for normal services.

Ultimately the company will move to UWB ultra-wideband to provide high speed data transfers. This would give the device true video capabilities.

This will make Bluetooth the ultimate handheld device, with classic mode enabled for regular voice connectivity and the new modes taking care of big data transfers.

ABI say that these embellishments are not far away, with a launch possible as soon as spring next year. UWB will follow around a year later.

These results were part of an ABI study called “Bluetooth: The Global Outlook” which delves into applications and variations of Bluetooth as well as an in depth look at the current market situation.