You have got to give Bluetooth credit – this is one technology that’s never complacent.
The latest Bluetooth advancement is something called Bluetooth LE Audio, an umbrella term for a collection of new features for Bluetooth devices.
LE Audio improves wireless audio performance, adds support for hearing aids, and introduces Auracast™ broadcast audio, a new Bluetooth capability that enhances the way people engage with others.
Bluetooth LE Audio is fueled by the new Low Complexity Communications Codec, or LC3. A codec basically compresses audio to whatever size it needs to be for streaming. LC3 can transmit audio at an acceptable quality without draining as many resources as the classic form of Bluetooth.
The most obvious benefit of low-energy audio streaming is better battery life on Bluetooth LE Audio-enabled devices. Anyone who’s used Spotify with wireless headphones to power through their work day can attest to the amount of battery charge that is used up.
That said, there are some less obvious applications for Bluetooth LE Audio.
For example, the fact that LE Audio uses much less power means you might be able to more easily connect one pair of headphones to multiple devices at once without doing any manual Bluetooth juggling. Perhaps you could go from watching Netflix on your laptop to taking a phone call using the same earbuds without any hassle.
One other potential application of Bluetooth LE Audio is what the Bluetooth SIG (Opens in a new tab) calls “audio sharing.”
Imagine you’re listening to a song you think is totally fresh, or a podcast you think is super important, and you want to show it to someone nearby. With LE Audio, you should be able to broadcast that audio from one source (a phone, for example) to multiple pairs of wireless headphones at the same time.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy Training Bootcamp, a 3-day Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth LE (BLE) Training Bootcamp with workshops, and exercises. This is a practical Classic Bluetooth and BLE Training with hands-on activities. Learn about Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless technology standards.
Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy Training Bootcamp is a course intended for engineers, software developers, hardware engineers, V&V professionals, project managers and other related job functions.
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.