01.Total Shipments 02.Feature Enhancements 03.Emerging Use Cases 04.Solution Areas 05.Audio Streaming 06.Data Transfer 07.Location Services 08.Device Networks Bluetooth®Total Shipments SHIPMENTS   ANNUAL DEVICE SHIPMENTS Total number of devices shipped will follow a steady incline The pandemic proved to be a turbulent time for many global markets with COVID-19 impacting supply chains and creating noticeable short-term shipment shortfalls for certain device types, such as smartphones, asset trackers, and voice-controlled front ends. While near-term forecasts are slightly down from last year, analysts anticipate higher growth over the later half of the five-year forecast. By 2027, 7.6 billion Bluetooth enabled devices will be shipping annually, representing a nine percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years. DOWNLOAD TOTAL SHIPMENTS Shipments by Radio Bluetooth® technology supports multiple radio options, allowing developers to build products that meet the unique connectivity needs of their customers. Today, Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radios are included in all traditional platform devices, from smartphones to tablets to laptops. Bluetooth dual-mode operation (Bluetooth Classic + Bluetooth LE) is now becoming standard in additional platform devices like TVs. Because of this, most Bluetooth devices shipped over the last five years have been and will continue to be dual-mode devices. Furthermore, many audio devices, such as earbuds, are also shifting to dual-mode operation. Due to the ongoing strong growth of connected consumer electronics devices, combined with the recent release of LE Audio, peripherals will continue to drive the growth of single-mode Bluetooth LE device shipments. Annual shipments of single-mode Bluetooth® LE devices will nearly match those of dual-mode annual device shipments by 2027. DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD 1.5BILLION Bluetooth® LE single-mode devices will ship in 2023 Peripherals drive single-mode Bluetooth® LE device growth Driven by continued strong growth in peripheral devices, Bluetooth® LE single-mode device shipments are forecasted to more than double over the next five years. In addition, when you consider both single-mode LE and dual-mode Classic + LE devices, 97 percent of all Bluetooth devices will include Bluetooth LE by 2027. DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD 100% of key new platform devices support dual mode (Bluetooth® Classic + Bluetooth LE) All platform devices support Bluetooth® Classic and Bluetooth LE Developers can count on Bluetooth® Classic and Bluetooth LE to be in all platform devices. With Bluetooth LE and Bluetooth Classic in 100 percent of phones, tablets, and PCs, the number of dual-mode devices supported by Bluetooth technology is reaching complete market saturation. DOWNLOAD 3.5BILLION Bluetooth® peripheral devices will ship in 2023, growing to 5.6 billion in 2027 Peripherals will continue to drive the growth of Bluetooth® device shipments Since all smartphones, tablets, and PCs support Bluetooth® LE, the growth rate of Bluetooth technology in peripheral devices will continue to outpace platform device growth. Bluetooth peripheral device shipments are set to double platform devices shipments in 2023.   FEATURE ENHANCEMENTS The Bluetooth SIG member community continues to expand the capabilities of Bluetooth® technology — powering innovation, creating new markets, and redefining what is possible in wireless communication. The hard work and collaboration between our member companies drive continuous innovation. Typically, there are more than 50 active specification projects in process. Here are some of the major Bluetooth specification projects recently completed or currently underway. RELEASED LE Audio Building on 20 years of innovation, LE Audio enhances the performance of Bluetooth® audio, adds support for hearing aids, and enables Auracast™ broadcast audio, an innovative new Bluetooth capability with the potential to, once again, change the way we experience audio and connect with the world around us. RELEASED Periodic Advertising with Responses Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) supports multiple logical data transport options designed to satisfy a wide variety of device communication needs. The Periodic Advertising with Responses (PAwR) feature defines a new Bluetooth LE logical transport designed to support several new device communication scenarios, including situations in which a hub needs to maintain bi-directional communication with thousands of end nodes. One key use case for PAwR is the rapidly growing electronic shelf label (ESL) market, which until now lacked a global standard for wireless ESL. UPCOMING High-Accuracy Distance Measurement Adding to the growing set of device positioning capabilities of Bluetooth® wireless technology – which currently includes advertising (for presence), RSSI (for basic distance measurement), and direction finding (for high accuracy direction) – a specification development project is currently underway to enable high-accuracy distance measurement between two Bluetooth enabled devices. This feature is expected to enable the creation of locating systems that can provide even higher levels of accuracy. UPCOMING Higher Data Throughput The LE 2M PHY was introduced to address a number of market opportunities, including enhancing data transfer performance for the growing number of IoT devices consumers were connecting to their smartphones. Today, an increasing number of these connected devices are looking for even greater performance, as well as support for streaming larger media, and could benefit from an even higher data rate Bluetooth® LE PHY. The Higher Data Throughput project was established to address that growing market need and intends to support data rates up to 8 Mbps. UPCOMING Bluetooth® LE in Higher Frequency Bands A specification development project is currently underway to define the operation of Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) in additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, including the 6 GHz frequency band. The new spectrum expansion project will help ensure that Bluetooth performance enhancements, including higher data throughput, lower latency, greater positioning accuracy, and new capabilities will continue to meet the future needs of companies implementing Bluetooth technology into their devices and solutions.   EMERGING USE CASES As the Bluetooth SIG member community continues to develop innovative features and capabilities, Bluetooth® technology is being used to not only power more and more traditional use cases, but is also expanding into and creating a wide range of emerging use cases. AuracastTM Broadcast Audio AuracastTM broadcast audio is a new Bluetooth® capability that will deliver life-changing audio experiences. It will let you share your audio, unmute your world, and hear your best, enhancing the way you engage with others and the world around you. LEARN MORE Digital Key As the smartphone continues to expand its role in everyday life, Bluetooth® technology is enabling smartphones to be used as a convenient and secure digital key, unlocking and controlling your car, or securely accessing your home, office, and more. LEARN MORE Electronic Shelf Labels Electronic shelf labels (ESL) are small, battery-powered electronic ink displays that present product and pricing information at the shelf edge, replacing paper labels. ESLs use wireless technology to communicate with a central hub to form a dynamic pricing and product information network. Bluetooth® ESL helps retailers automate pricing, improve shelf inventory, and enhance the shopper experience. LEARN MORE Networked Lighting Control Networked lighting control systems feature an intelligent network of individually addressable, sensor-rich luminaires and control devices that allows each component of the system to send and receive data. Bluetooth® networked lighting control systems are deployed in offices, retail, healthcare, factories, and other commercial facilities to deliver a combination of energy savings, enhanced occupant experience, and more efficient building operations. LEARN MORE Ambient IoT Enabled by a new class of very low-cost Bluetooth® tags that can track an item's current inventory, condition, and state, the Ambient IoT promises to connect and efficiently manage everyday objects that surround us. Initially focused on improving high-velocity supply chains in the food and pharma industries, the Ambient IoT total addressable market is measured in the trillions of units....