Bluetooth 5.1 specification officially announced

Thanks to the wider transmission distance (300 meters), lower power consumption, faster speed (2Mbps), and the ability to connect two audio devices at the same time, Bluetooth 5.0 (released in June 2016) is rapidly gaining popularity.

This week, Bluetooth SIG announced that Bluetooth 5.1 has been delivered to developers, and the most noteworthy new change is the “direction finding” feature. The Bluetooth organization hopes to replace Wi-Fi’s auxiliary positioning role with the 5.1 standards, which will help scenes that require location services such as GPS, including determining distances and even precise locations.

Bluetooth SIG said that the positioning accuracy of Bluetooth 5.1 can reach centimeter level (currently 1 to 10 meters), and it will play an important role in indoor navigation and a quick search for the bracelet/remote control board. Other features include an optimized GATT (Common Attribute Profile) to improve pairing and communication speed; a random channel index that helps avoid packet collisions and ensures Bluetooth ad arrival rates, and more.