Almost every year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announces a new version of the technology. Currently, we are using Bluetooth v5.4, however, Bluetooth SIG has already published specifications for the latest v6.0. This means that, with flagships set to launch in the coming weeks, we may soon start seeing the new Bluetooth 6.0 in smartphones. The latest version of the connectivity technology comes with features like channel sounding, decision-based ad filtering, advertisers monitoring. But what does it mean to you?

Now, based on the specifications published by Bluetooth SIG, most of the changes are behind the scenes, affecting things we don’t directly interact with. However, for device manufacturers and software developers, these changes should lead to significant improvements in Bluetooth connection stability, data speeds, and battery life. Which means a significant upgrade for the end user as well.

One of the biggest changes coming with Bluetooth 6.0 is a feature called Channel Sounding, which helps Bluetooth provide true spatial awareness. This feature will add true distance awareness to Bluetooth, which could bring big improvements in many areas. For example, it will make it faster and easier to find lost items with the “Find My” tool.

Another feature that comes with Bluetooth 6.0 is decision-based ad filtering. No, this feature is not about online ads but about how Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) signals identify themselves to other devices. This allows a device to decide whether it needs to see more related data after receiving a packet. This minimizes data loss and speeds things up by preventing the device from downloading the same data more than once. There is also a feature called Advertiser Monitoring, which aims to save battery and improve Bluetooth’s response time by allowing the device receiving data to filter out duplicate packets from the sending device.

Delay in data transfer will also be reduced with Bluetooth 6.0 with another feature called Isochronous Adaptation Layer Enhancement, which will allow larger data to be divided into smaller packets, making faster transfers possible. It also includes a new mode to reduce latency depending on how data is organized.

Currently, no devices with Bluetooth 6 have been announced, but new specifications were released in August 2024. The Snapdragon 8 Elite supports Bluetooth 6, so we may see it in smartphones and other devices soon. So far, two smartphones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset have been announced – the OnePlus 13 and the Realme GT7 Pro. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series, iQOO 13 and Xiaomi 15 series, among many other smartphones.