How Bluetooth helps fulfill the essential need to connect
Bluetooth is more than just a technology — it’s a community of some of the world’s best minds and organizations with the shared vision of creating a better world through connection. Thousands of members around the world come together to bring bold new ideas to life and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Together, we advance, protect, and promote Bluetooth® technology, the global standard for connection.
Connection is where Bluetooth began
In 1996, wireless innovators at Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia met to plan the standardization for a short-range radio technology to support connectivity and collaboration between different products and industries. During this meeting, Jim Kardach from Intel suggested Bluetooth as a code name, drawn from the bold Scandinavian king who unified Denmark and Norway more than a millennia ago. Kardach was later quoted as saying, “King Harald Bluetooth…was famous for uniting Scandinavia just as we intended to unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link.”
As connection inspired our name and logo, it remains our foundation; it is an idea that proved true then and endures today. It is made real by the billions of Bluetooth devices in use daily. Tomorrow, there will be solutions enabled by Bluetooth that exceed today’s imagination — small enough to connect with little power and big enough to change the world.
The evolution of Bluetooth
The Bluetooth we all know lives inside our headphones, smartphones, and automobiles. Thanks to its proven reliability, security, and range, it also powers less-expected applications, such as electronic shelf labels, factory workflows, medical devices, and more.
Over the last 25+ years, Bluetooth® technology has expanded from a short-range wireless innovation for voice and audio streaming to a low-power dater transfer solution for wearables and fitness trackers to support many-to-many device connections for powering entire commercial lighting networks. Our solution-oriented approach to standardization ensures Bluetooth devices around the world are easy to build and use.
The evolution of Bluetooth
The Bluetooth we all know lives inside our headphones, smartphones, and automobiles. Thanks to its proven reliability, security, and range, it also powers less-expected applications, such as electronic shelf labels, factory workflows, medical devices, and more.
Over the last 25+ years, Bluetooth® technology has expanded from a short-range wireless innovation for voice and audio streaming to a low-power data-transfer solution for wearables and fitness trackers to support many-to-many device connections for powering entire commercial lighting networks. Our solution-oriented approach to standardization ensures Bluetooth devices around the world are easy to build and use.
Most recently, Bluetooth released two significant enhancements to the technology:
- Auracast™ broadcast audio: A new Bluetooth® capability that enables exciting new audio experiences, letting you share your audio with friends and family, unmute silent TVs in public spaces, and hear your best wherever you go
- Bluetooth® Channel Sounding: A new secure, fine-ranging feature that helps a range of use cases take advantage of highly accurate and secure device positioning, including personal item tracking, digital keys, and more
And with work already underway on future features such as high data throughput (HDT), higher frequency bands, Bluetooth LE Audio enhancements, and ultra low latency HID, the possibilities are limitless. Whether your Bluetooth devices enhance activities in your daily life, help monitor and improve your health and wellness, optimize day-to-day industrial operations, or support cost-saving initiatives in commercial and retail spaces, Bluetooth connectivity supports a wide range of global solutions — with more than five billion Bluetooth devices shipping each year.
The value of the Bluetooth brand
In an era of rapid technological advancements, few brands have managed to achieve the ubiquity and reliability of Bluetooth. It is easy to take for granted how widespread Bluetooth connectivity is; it is everywhere, often in unexpected places, powering amazing experiences. The ever-present nature of Bluetooth technology is due, in large part, to the hard work and commitment of tens of thousands of dedicated member companies working together to create, proliferate, and solidify Bluetooth as a global standard for wireless connectivity.
Thanks to this standardization, when you see the Bluetooth logo on a device, you know that it will seamlessly connect with other Bluetooth solutions. In a market flooded with wireless technologies, this type of trust is critical.
A brand that connects the world
Bluetooth is more than a simple wireless technology — it is a globally recognized standard that fosters seamless connection across industries. By offering limitless application, natural connection, and a complete solution, Bluetooth technology has solidified its place as an essential component of modern experiences. As technology evolves, the Bluetooth brand will undoubtedly continue to adapt and grow, reinforcing its position as a trusted and indispensable connectivity solution.
Connection helps to create a better world — a world that is healthier, smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable. Connection enriches lives, enhances experiences, opens new opportunities, and transforms industries by changing the way business is done. Connections have the power to change the world — and the Bluetooth SIG and its member community are making it happen.
