Bluetooth 6.0 has officially launched – here’s what the upgraded standard can do

Expect Find My upgrades and improved efficiency

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There’s a good chance that yourely on Bluetoothmore than you realize, even if you might take the wireless communication protocol for granted – and Bluetooth 6.0 is now official, bringing with it a variety of significant new improvements.

Theofficial announcementfrom the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which includes the likes ofIntel,Apple, andGoogleas members, highlights some of the upgrades we can look forward to once Bluetooth 6.0 devices start appearing.

There’s a lot of emphasis on improving filtering and efficiency, so that Bluetooth devices are only communicating with each other when they need to, and not transmitting any redundant data. That in turn should lessen the demands on device battery life.

More efficient transmissions should mean faster transfer speeds too, even though the core Bluetooth speed hasn’t changed. Potentially, it means devices such as thebest fitness trackersshould be syncing and updating more quickly than before.

Sounding off

The most notable new feature in the spec – though it won’t necessarily be supported by all Bluetooth 6.0 devices – is called Channel Sounding, and it means two devices that support the feature will be able to better identify the distance between them, across a wide area and down to a single centimeter (about 0.4 inches).

That means the ‘find my device’ services run by Apple,Samsung, Google, Tile and others should become more accurate and sensitive, across a wider range of gadgets. The improved wireless tech could also help with tasks like unlocking cars and smart locks.

Apple’s Find My service currently uses ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to locate certain devices, including AirTags and the newest iPhones, to a high level of accuracy – but Bluetooth 6.0 will expand this to a much bigger range of hardware.

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As yet there’s no word on when Bluetooth 6.0 will appear in devices, as it’s up to device makers such as Apple and Samsung to work on incorporating the standard into their hardware.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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