Next Generation of Bluetooth Seen Bringing Big Changes to Audio Market

Members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) are working on next-generation audio technologies that promise point-to-multipoint use cases and multiroom capability, Powell said. The higher bitrate of Bluetooth 5 will allow higher quality audio, long a point of contention in Bluetooth vs. Wi-Fi for audio streaming. A Harman product announcement at IFA, for instance, said its JBL Playlist technology, using Wi-Fi-based Google Cast, lets users “enjoy higher audio quality than they would with a Bluetooth speaker due to use of Wi-Fi.”

The coming spate of audio applications enabled by Bluetooth 5 “will replace the existing set of Bluetooth audio applications,” said Powell, “and will support applications like multiroom audio.” Powell was quick to say Bluetooth won’t be a Wi-Fi replacement in multiroom audio, noting the two have coexisted “nicely.” A growing number of audio companies, such as Bose with its SoundTouch wireless music system, have incorporated both, using Bluetooth for in-room streaming from a smartphone to a single speaker and then Wi-Fi to take the music to other rooms in a home.

Bluetooth 5’s longer range and higher bitrate could narrow the quality gap. “I would hesitate to say replace,” Powell added, “but I would definitely see multiroom speakers still having Wi-Fi but your being able to connect to them directly using Bluetooth.” In a multiroom scenario, "I can imagine use cases where you might want to tune to an internet radio station without your smartphone being around,” and Wi-Fi would enable that, Powell said. Bluetooth makes it simpler to play synchronized audio through multiple speakers, he said. “With multipoint Bluetooth, you’ll be able to connect to multiple speakers at the same time.” Whether there will be a limit to the number of Bluetooth speakers that will be able to connect in a multiroom system, Powell said: “I don’t know if we’ve studied that.” Work is ongoing, he said, “and we’ll talk about it next year.”

Beacon technology, meanwhile, will benefit from the higher capacity in the next generation of Bluetooth, said Powell. “Expanding the beacon payload allows us to include a complete URL or code in the beacon transmission,” and that will allow a beacon user to deliver a page of information to a consumer directly without the need for a special app and for that app to be active, he said. “It can be instantaneous and interactive,” he said. In the future, information sent by beacons will pop up on a nearby device “so you don’t have to be asking for it. It will be presented to you if that’s what you choose to do,” Powell said. Depending on how the venue implements beacon technology, users will either have to opt in or opt out if they do or don’t want to receive messages, he said.

The faster Bluetooth 5 will mean speedier software updates for smartwatches and fitness trackers, said Powell. “Doubling the speed enables the firmware update to happen in half the time, and it helps with battery consumption. because you can transmit packets of information twice as fast … so batteries can last longer,” he said.

Discover Blue Event Notebook

The Bluetooth 5 specification is scheduled for release in late 2016, a Bluetooth SIG spokeswoman told us. The time of products to market can vary, “but historically we have seen these as early as one to six months from the release of a new spec,” she said.

Cassia Networks showed a Bluetooth hub/router that allows users to connect up to 22 Bluetooth devices at a range of up to 1,000 feet (open air). The company’s $149 router connects to its $79 speaker, $29 multicolor LED light and $29 wall switch. “You’re going to see more and more devices being supported,” said Cassia Vice President-U.S. Operations Van Krueger. Cassia's current hub supports Bluetooth 4 and products will support five next year when chipsets are available from CSR and other semiconductor manufacturers, he said. The hub supports Bluetooth Low Energy for controlling smart plugs and Bluetooth Classic for audio streaming, he said. Cassia’s solution allows streaming to three Bluetooth speakers or three pairs of speakers using the same audio stream or different ones, he said. The number of speakers is limited by the 3 Mbps bandwidth of the Bluetooth chip inside, said Krueger. The real-world range of the system in a home is “three walls” on average, said David Grove, director-business development. The hub pairs with Bluetooth speakers consumers already own because Bluetooth Classic is “open-profile,” making the Cassia hub compatible with 99 percent of Bluetooth speakers on the market, said Krueger. Early Bluetooth audio chips were designed to stream content to a single device, said Krueger, but expanded memory will allow multispeaker support. Or, a speaker can have multiple chips to achieve farther range, he said. At the event, Cassia announced a feature designed to compete with AirPlay and Chrome Cast. “You can stream music from any Bluetooth device -- a PC, phone or tablet,” Krueger said. The company launched a software development kit for third parties after CES when it became clear other companies had interest in a Bluetooth router, said Krueger. Using Cassia’s hub, companies can use their own native app while getting the extended range of the hub. Cassia is also targeting auto makers about using a hub-to-hub design in a mesh networking configuration that extends transmission range to “kilometers,” and it is looking at telemedicine applications, Krueger said.

Smart & Green showed wireless, waterproof and rechargeable LED lights that use the company’s Bluetooth-based Smartmesh technology, where each light acts as a repeater. Users can change colors and create scenes via app, said Fabien Dherbassy, owner of parent company IPW Group. Range is 100 meters, he said. Roughly 150 lights can connect over the mesh network, he said. Products include a $30 controller, and the decorative lights range from $99 to $269 in indoor and outdoor designs.

JLab Audio unveiled Epic2 Bluetooth wireless earbuds ($99) with 12-hour battery life, two hours longer than the previous model. Marketing director Terra Teat cited the increased opportunity for wireless speakers and headphones afforded by the iPhone 7’s lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. The company also showed its $99 Crasher XL Bluetooth speaker, a 30-watt model with 13-hour battery life. JLab is working on a competitor to Apple’s wireless in-ear AirPods coming to market this month, said Teat. JLabs’ patented solution will offer longer battery life when it ships next year, she said.