Recently The Bluetooth 6.0 specification has been publishedthe next major evolution of the world’s most widely used wireless protocol for connecting devices of all types. Let us recall that Bluetooth 5.0 was released in 2016, although it is true that in the years that have passed until now, we have seen the arrival of four of its revisions, in all cases with significant improvements and which showed that those responsible for this standard remains very active.

In this case, since we are talking about a higher order version jump, logically we will find quite a lot of newsmaking its adoption on new devices more than recommended. In summary, we can stick to three main points in this regard:

• Energy efficiency: Bluetooth 6.0 introduces features like “Decision-Based Ad Filtering” and “Advertiser Tracking” that reduce power consumption by filtering and monitoring only data relevant to each application. In addition, the standard now allows devices to know when another device they are trying to connect to leaves their range, preventing failed connection attempts and saving power.
• Reduced latency: Through the Enhanced Isochronous Adaptation Layer (ISOAL), Bluetooth 6.0 reduces latency by allowing devices to split larger data packets into smaller pieces while maintaining the accuracy of time-stamped information. This is especially useful for real-time wireless audio applications such as games.
• Security: With the implementation of “Bluetooth Channel Sounding”, security is also improved, as devices can communicate more precisely to find their location, making it harder to spoof Bluetooth signals.

Now, I’ve mentioned a new technology in this list that, although initially related (and for obvious reasons) to security, significantly reduces spoofing attacks. I mean, as you’ve probably already deduced, Bluetooth channel soundtechnology that can further improve the experience of using beacons and other location devices.

This technology Provides centimeter-level position accuracyfor which it uses the signals sent by the two connected devices, from which it obtains information such as the travel times of the radio signals and the reflections they encounter on their way from obstacles such as walls, furniture or people. The next step, of course, is to analyze all the metadata of the connection itself, to determine the exact location of what we’re looking for, if we use it for that purpose.

The most interesting thing about this Bluetooth 6.0 technology is that Its accuracy is very high, even if we are talking about long distances (within the inherent range of Bluetooth connectivity, of course), something in which the time each signal takes from being sent to being received plays a key role. So as this new generation of Bluetooth starts to roll out, beacons like Apple’s Air Tag, as well as networks like Apple’s Find my Network and Google’s Find my Device, will be able to offer an even higher level of accuracy than the current one, and that’s already pretty accurate.

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