Bluetooth 4.0 represented a major improvement in Bluetooth technology for mobile terminals, significantly improving battery autonomy, among many others, and Bluetooth 4.1 promises much more. The new standard what will be available soon promises a much better operation of Bluetooth simultaneously with an LTE connection, this change improving transfer speeds, but also the methods by which users connect and stay connected to devices compatible with Bluetooth 4.1. By improving connections, the standard allows developers to more precisely control the intervals between which devices automatically connect/disconnect, this can further improve battery autonomy.
- coexistence — engineered to work seamlessly and cooperatively with the latest generation cellular technologies like LTE. Bluetooth and LTE radios can communicate in order to ensure transmissions are coordinated and therefore reduce the possibility of near-band interference. The coordination between the two technologies happens automatically, while the consumer experiences the high quality they expect.
- Better Connections — provides manufacturers with more control over creating and maintaining Bluetooth connections by making the reconnection time interval flexible and variable. This improves the consumer experience by allowing devices to reconnect automatically when they are in proximity of one another. The consumer can leave the room and upon returning, two recently used devices reconnect without user intervention.
- Improved Data Transfer — Bluetooth Smart technology provides bulk data transfer. For example, through this new capability, sensors, which gathered data during a run, bike ride or swim, transfer that data more efficiently when the consumer returns home.
More than that, Bluetooth 4.1 it will allow mobile terminals to function as hubs or peripheral devices, i.e. a smartwatch could take data from the sensor of an accessory, sharing other data to the operating system of a smartphone. These are just some of the changes prepared by SIG, the organization that develops Bluetooth technology, and they will be used starting next year by all those interested, so we can expect good things from future mobile terminals, Apple going to implement certainly this standard in future iDevices.
