Bluetooth Reaches Version 4.2

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The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announces Bluetooth core specification version 4.2-- an update featuring improvements on security and speed, as well as an IP connectivity-enabling profile.

Bluetooth“Bluetooth 4.2 is all about continuing to make Bluetooth Smart the best solution to connect all the technology in your life-- from personal sensors to your connected home," the SIG says. "In addition to the improvements to the specification itself, a new profile known as IPSP enables IPv6 for Bluetooth, opening entirely new doors for device connectivity.”

On the security front Bluetooth 4.2 should make it harder for eavesdroppers (such as Apple's iBeacons) to track devices without direct user permission. It also promises to transfer data up to 2.5 times faster than previous versions, with reductions in both transmission errors and power consumption.

Meanwhile the IPSP profile allows Bluetooth Smart sensors to directly access the internet via IPv6 and 6LoWPAN, making the technology potentially more useful for smart home and other Internet of Things applications.

Bluetooth 4.2 will hit devices as a device firmware update later during the year.

Go Bluetooth 4.2