You probably know that Bluetooth is a wireless connection between devices that allows for data transfer over short distances.

You probably don’t know Bluetooth is named after 10th-century king Harald Bluetooth, who united Denmark's tribes into a single kingdom. You can read that interesting story here.

More relevant than interesting however, is that Bluetooth 5.0 is finally here, providing 4x the range of Bluetooth 4.2. That means you can use your mobile phone up to 800 feet away from compatible headphones and speakers while maintaining connectivity. Bluetooth 5.0 offers twice the data transfer speed of the previous version. But most excitingly, Bluetooth 5.0 has enough bandwidth to support two sets of wireless devices at the same time. This means you can play music from your mobile phone on two speakers in different rooms, or listen on two sets of wireless headphones.

Here VTSL’s techies tell you what you need to know.

What's better about Bluetooth 5.0? It is faster, has longer range, and can transfer more information.

Why does that matter? Besides some of the more obvious benefits mentioned above, Bluetooth 5.0 is going to help support the IoT.

When is it coming out? It's already here. Check out the Samsung Galaxy S8, the first device that ships standard with it.

Is it really 5.0 faster?

Yes, it offers twice the data transfer speed of the previous version, while increasing the capacity of data broadcasts by 800%.

What about range?

The new standard has over four times the range of Bluetooth 4.2, which is particularly useful for things like portable speakers. You will be able to wander further away with your mobile phone without stopping the music.

And what about the Internet of Things?

Bluetooth 5.0 was designed with IoT functionality in mind. Its extra range and capacity will help more smart household devices talk to each other, and it will mean that things move away from the app-paired-to-device model to a connectionless IoT where there is less need to download an app or connect the app to a device.

It is believed that Bluetooth will be in more than one-third of all installed IoT devices by 2020.

Will my old devices benefit?

While your existing phones, speakers and equipment may work with Bluetooth 5 devices, they won't benefit from its extra capabilities. That means you will need to buy new Bluetooth 5.0 devices to take advantage of its entire expanded feature set. For those customers that use a wireless headset with VTSL’s VoIP business phone system, it unfortunately won't increase to an 800 ft range. But who needs that when you have mobile twinning anyway!

About VTSL

VTSL is a unified communications company based in London, U.K. specialising in VoIP business phone systems for companies looking for the perfect combination of ease-of-use and features.  With a low, per user price point and an intuitive online web portal, VTSL’s award winning VoIP business phone system offers a true value-add proposition. Learn more about VTSL’s business phone service, integrations and free features by emailing info@vtsl.net.