Qualcomm Highlights Past Bluetooth®
Successes and Shares Insight Into
What’s Ahead for Bluetooth Technology
in 2025

An innovator of intelligent computing, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. strives to develop comprehensive solutions that drive transformation across major industries. Building on a nearly 40-year track record of creating impactful technologies, Qualcomm delivers cutting-edge, high-performing connectivity products that help enable next-generation digital transformation.

In a recent meeting with Javier del Prado, Qualcomm VP and GM of mobile connectivity, we discussed some of the big Bluetooth^® technology achievements from 2024, and he shared his insight into what we might expect from Bluetooth connectivity in the coming year.

Q&A With Javier del Prado From Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

What do you think was the most exciting Bluetooth technology moment, innovation, or development from the past year?

Bluetooth technology is one of the key wireless technologies in our portfolio across many market segments. We are proud to collaborate with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) to advance the technology enabling our customers to bring innovative applications to market.

One of the most exciting moments of Bluetooth technology was the announcement of Bluetooth® Core Specification version 6.0. This advancement heralded the release of the Bluetooth Channel Sounding feature which unlocks incredible new, secure, precise, true distance use cases.

Bluetooth Channel Sounding is one of the most exciting features of the year. We were incredibly proud to be among the first to qualify to Bluetooth® Core Specification version 6.0 and Bluetooth Channel Sounding. We were also honored to participate in the Bluetooth Channel Sounding interoperability test events which played a key role in the adoption of the the latest version of the Bluetooth Core Specification.

Ensuring a strong ecosystem of devices is essential, and we are proud to be at the forefront of both testing and certification. 

What trends in Bluetooth technology had the most significant impact in 2024?

We’ve seen an increase in precise, true distance-finding experiences like the find my use case. Also, there is a great desire for solutions that seamlessly interact with multiple devices at the same time, which is part of why we’ve prioritized using Bluetooth Channel Sounding to make these experiences come to life in smartphones.

In the retail sector, we saw the demand for creating a unified retail system of IoT devices that can seamlessly communicate and integrate into a single management platform. We’ve worked to approach the entire store ecosystem and operations in a comprehensive manner seen in our platforms and solutions.  

What has been the biggest Bluetooth connectivity demand from your customers in 2024?

Because we reach a wide range of markets, each customer and application is unique. In 2024, we’ve seen a notable increase in the use of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) for IoT devices, including growing momentum in electronic shelf label implementations. This advancement enables the creation of a unified retail system where IoT devices from various manufacturers can seamlessly communicate and integrate into a single management platform. It has the potential to revolutionize retail operations, driving efficiency, cost savings, and improved security and scalability.

Also, the demand for the Bluetooth Core Specification version 6.0 feature set as a whole has been incredible. We’ve been excited to help our customers enable various features, including Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Encrypted Advertising Data, and Decision-Based Advertising Filtering.