2008, in bluetooth marketing, the most notable change is the increase in the number of users and use-cases. we believe it will be an important year for Bluetooth technology,Businesses are learning to use bluetooth beacon more systematically with clear ROI-focused business plans.
The Bluetooth device shipments have grown to 3.9 billion in 2018, and the number is expected to reach 5.2 billion by 2022. Membership at the Bluetooth SIG continues to experience strong growth with over 33,000 companies across the world.
Bluetooth devices are moving towards advanced use cases specifically in areas like asset tracking where expensive RFID solutions are used. Bluetooth allows for lower entry costs, making RTLS and location-based marketing a more viable business case.
As the Bluetooth market and its applications continue to grow, Bluetooth technology innovations progress rapidly too. In a recent report, Bluetooth SIG proclaimed that their working groups delivers one new specification or at least an update each month. Among all that has been brought the table, Bluetooth mesh and Bluetooth 5 are two highlights that we are going to be talking about in this blog post.
Bluetooth is continuously expanding the way in which things connect. With the point-to-point connection, Bluetooth pioneered the wireless audio market demonstrating the strength of one to one communication. With broadcast connections, Bluetooth paved the way for the Bluetooth beacon revolution demonstrating the power of one to many communication. Now with mesh, Bluetooth is unleashing the potential of many to many communication. It is now possible to connect thousands of devices to each other. This technology is a boon to cases like smart homes and asset tracking that involve multiple devices.
Bluetooth made its debut with a speed of 1Mbps and a limitation that did not allow the Bluetooth of one manufacturer to connect to other. This limitation was overcome by Bluetooth 2 which also provided an enhanced data rate (EDR) of 3Mbps. Bluetooth 3 enabled devices to use an alternate radio frequency (HS 802.11), and Bluetooth 4 made it possible for one device to connect to various devices at the same time. Now Bluetooth 5 features doubled speed, quadrupled transmission range and eight times more data transfer than its predecessors. Though Bluetooth 5 was rolled out a year ago, its actual potential can be witnessed only in 2018. This is because the devices that came with Bluetooth4 inbuilt could not use the updated features of Bluetooth 5. But now, the new phones on the market can handle Bluetooth 5. HTC, Samsung, and Apple have already implemented Bluetooth 5 into their newest devices, and this adoption will continue to expand in 2018.