Bluetooth High Data Throughput will bring faster data transfers and higher quality audio than ever before, but it's more than a software update, it needs manufacturers to adopt it in hardware.
For something we all rely on for everything from external keyboards to wireless AirPods, Bluetooth can be closer to alchemy than a standard. But there is a Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) which organizes it, and which has now launched a new version that's faster and more capable.
"As the world's most widely used wireless standard, Bluetooth technology has continually evolved to meet the growing demands of an increasingly connected world," Neville Meijers, CEO of the Bluetooth SIG, said in a statement to AppleInsider. "The Bluetooth SIG member community has once again risen to the challenge."
"Bluetooth HDT brings a new level of performance to Bluetooth technology," he continued, "expanding the role it can play across consumer, commercial, and industrial markets and creating a powerful foundation for the next generation of wireless innovation."
Specifically, Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) is an optional part of Bluetooth Core 7.0. Bluetooth HDT supports 7.5 Mbps, which is said to be almost four times faster than the current Bluetooth LE.
That speed opens up more possibilities than just transferring data faster so audio latency might be reduced, for instance.. It means devices take less time to transmit more data so they use energy more efficiently.
Sounds good
The Bluetooth SIG says that the "flagship application" for the new standard will be premium wireless audio. Bluetooth HDT supports lossless and high-resolution audio, plus surround sound and spatial audio.
However, the fact that it is an optional part of the standard means that no one is actually required to adopt it. Since it will require new processors and is therefore an extra cost for manufacturers, it could take time for many of them to use it.
Which might just translate to manufacturers waiting to see what Apple does.
Apple has not publicly commented about adopting Bluetooth HDT. According to Japanese news site AV Watch, however, Bluetooth SIG has told local journalists that it is confident the standard will be adopted.
"[The decision] is left to each company," said Bluetooth SIG's chief marketing officer Ken Kolderup (in translation). "However, our current feeling is that [Apple's] interest is very high, because Apple executives are participating and we are currently discussing the standard."
Bluetooth SIG says that it expects to see Bluetooth HDT being supported in 2027.
