What is Bluetooth 5.4? Everything you need to know

What is Bluetooth 5.4? Everything you need to know،

Fun fact: The Bluetooth symbol consists of two Norse runes, representing the first letters of the Danish king's name, H and B. Why “Bluetooth?” » Well, the king loved blueberries and his teeth were always blue, or so the legend goes.

How does Bluetooth work?

What is Bluetooth 5.4? everything you need to know

Bluetooth operates on radio waves in the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, using a technique called frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS). FHSS allows Bluetooth to quickly change frequencies within the designated band, minimizing interference from other wireless devices operating in the same spectrum.

Some of you may know that Wi-Fi also uses the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band (see our Wi-Fi article for more details), but the two technologies coexist without interference , using the aforementioned technique.

There is overlap in apps and some features between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Both standards allow devices to connect wirelessly and transfer data, but Bluetooth is most often used for simpler connections between two devices at relatively short distances.

Evolution of Bluetooth

The journey began with the release of Bluetooth 1.0 in 1999, providing basic connectivity with limited data transfer capabilities. Over the years, subsequent versions fixed deficiencies and introduced improvements, culminating in Bluetooth 5.0, which brought significant improvements such as longer range, higher data transfer speeds and improved device interoperability .

Bluetooth versions:

Bluetooth 1.x: Basic data transfer capabilities.
Bluetooth 2.x: Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) for faster data transfer.
Bluetooth 3.x: Introduced high-speed Bluetooth for faster data transfer over Wi-Fi.
Bluetooth 4.x: Low Energy (LE) introduced for energy-efficient communication.
Bluetooth 5.x: Increased range, higher data transfer speeds and improved power efficiency.

Bluetooth 5.4

Enter Bluetooth 5.4! We are finally on the subject! The latest iteration of the popular wireless standard brings advancements that promise improved performance, increased efficiency and expanded capabilities. Let's quickly review the main features.

Main features of Bluetooth 5.4

Most of the improvements between the different versions of Bluetooth 5.0 concern the encryption and security aspects of the connection. In the following table you will find all the differences between the latest versions of Bluetooth 5.0 up to version 5.4.

	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.1	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth5.3	Bluetooth 5.4
Range	Up to 800 feet (240 meters)	Even	Even	Even	Even
Speed	2 Mbit/s (LE) 50 Mbps (EDR)	Even	Even	Even	Even
Energetic efficiency	GOOD	Great	Great	Excellent	Excellent
Reliability	GOOD	Great	Great	Excellent	Excellent
Security	Great	Great	Great	Great	Excellent

Periodic Advertising with Responses (PAwR)

Without getting too technical, this allows a Bluetooth access point to connect and communicate bidirectionally with multiple endpoints. With previous versions of the standard, this was simply not possible. This feature is not intended to allow your phone to connect to every Bluetooth gadget you have in your house (unfortunately), but it is aimed more at the retail sector.

Electronic Preservation Label (ESL) Profile

Using PAwR technology, Bluetooth 5.4 allows a retail store to remotely monitor and change electronic labels on different products. The Electronic Preservation Label (ESL) profile provides all the information and instructions necessary for such connections to be established and managed easily.

Encrypted advertising data

This new type of connection with multiple ESL devices requires encryption to maintain privacy, prevent tampering, and secure the network. Bluetooth 5.4 provides a standardized way to encrypt advertising data to ensure connection security.

Conclusion

Good, you have it now. Bluetooth 5.4 brings exciting new features, mainly in the Internet of Things area, such as better security and improvements in energy efficiency and stability. These steps may not seem huge, considering that Bluetooth 5.0 has already pushed things like range (up to 800 feet), low-power connections, and transfer rates (up to 2 Mbps), but they are nevertheless important.