Bluetooth is getting a big boost to data transfer speeds

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) that oversees the wireless standard has formally adopted Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) as an optional feature of the Bluetooth Core 7.0. It’s an upgrade the Bluetooth SIG has been previewing over the past year that increases Bluetooth LE’s maximum supported bit rate from 2 Mbps to 7.5 Mbps. It will allow for higher resolution audio to be streamed but also improvements to battery life and reliability.

The primary application for Bluetooth HDT will once again be for wireless audio, with the first devices supporting the new feature expected to appear sometime in 2027. The increased bit rate will support high-resolution audio but also new wireless audio experiences including spatial audio and multi-channel surround sound without requiring proprietary wireless formats.

Bluetooth HDT will benefit other wireless devices beyond headphones. Smartwatches could sync more training, health, and fitness data to a phone without a reduction in battery life because HDT can transfer more data in less time, requiring the Bluetooth radio to be on for shorter periods. Spatial computing and extended reality devices could offer more robust experiences without needing a connection to Wi-Fi, and HDT will benefit the ever-growing number of personal AI devices, allowing them to more efficiently hand off data to be processed by a smartphone so they can be lighter and smaller.

Even the simple act of updating the firmware on a smartwatch or smart home accessories could feel faster and become a task that doesn’t need to be put off until later when you’re not using your device. “Bluetooth HDT brings a new level of performance to Bluetooth technology, expanding the role it can play across consumer, commercial, and industrial markets and creating a powerful foundation for the next generation of wireless innovation,” said Neville Meijers, CEO of the Bluetooth SIG. “As the world’s most widely used wireless standard, Bluetooth technology has continually evolved to meet the growing demands of an increasingly connected world.”

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