Differences Between Bluetooth 5 vs 4.2



Bluetooth is wireless Technology used everywhere. Bluetooth comes with many version of every year which fulfills the demands of users of that year. But with the growing demand for IoT based devices, User also want to some new and advanced features for Bluetooth. The new version has changes and more support than the previous ones. Now Bluetooth 5 has released which promises to deliver the best quality connectivity to its users. Bluetooth 5 has come with dramatically improved performance and functionality.
The Article compares between Bluetooth 5 vs Bluetooth 4.2 and declares a comparison between Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth 4.2 version. It disclosure basic characteristic of Bluetooth 5 which has made it famous for IoT(Internet of Things) and Bluetooth Beacon markets. Bluetooth 5 is the latest version of Bluetooth specifications which is the successor to Bluetooth 4.2 version.

Bluetooth 5.0

Bluetooth 5 is announced on 16 June 2016 to come in late 2016 or early 2017. Bluetooth 5 is here and with its release, developers to meet all the advanced standard of wireless world with more privacy and security.It is setting the stage for the future. Bluetooth is revolutionizing how people experience the IoT. Its specification includes the low power consumption, inexpensive hardware and, small size implementations.

  • Bluetooth Low Energy App Development
  • IOT APP DEVELOPMENT
  • Bluetooth 5.0 Guide

Bluetooth 5.0 is the continuation of Low Energy LE. Its speed is 48MBps (double than the last version). It can be connected up to the distance of 300 meters or 985 feet (4 times last version). The ISM band ranges from 2.4-2.485 GHz. One little disappointing thing for users is that it doesnt have any backward compatibility with its old or previous versions. It requires new hardware which should be latest and advanced so that those devices meet the requirements of Bluetooth v5.0 to run it smoothly.

Here are 7 comparisons to help you decide what work best for your device:

Speed
Bluetooth 5 is faster than Bluetooth 4 with the format having 2Mbps, twice the speed of Bluetooth 4 about 1 Mbps making the Bluetooth 5 able to meet one of IoT requirements. This is thanks to the 5Mbps bandwidth of the Bluetooth 5 in comparison to 2.1 Mbps of the Bluetooth 4.


Bluetooth 4.0 Range vs 4.2 Range vs 5.0 Range

Bluetooth 4 supports 50m in outdoor range and 10m in indoor range making it low whilst Bluetooth 5 supports 200m in Line of Sight path in the outdoor environment and 40m in the indoor environment.

Power requirement
The Bluetooth 5 has been formulated to use less power on your device compared to the Bluetooth 4. That means you can keep your Bluetooth switched on for a longer period of time and so much more compared to Bluetooth 4 which consumes more power than its newer counterpart.
Message Capacity
Bluetooth 5 has large Massage capacity about 255 bytes gives more bytes for actual data payload while the Bluetooth 4 has small message capacity of about 31 bytes which gives just 17 to 20 bytes for actual data payload.
Bluetooth beacon
Bluetooth 5 beacon has become more popular increase range and speed while with Bluetooth 4 beacons were less popular due to less speed and range as well as low Message capacity of 31 bytes.
Speed
Bluetooth 5 is faster than Bluetooth 4 with the format having 2Mbps, twice the speed of Bluetooth 4 about 1 Mbps making the Bluetooth 5 able to meet one of IoT requirements. This is thanks to the 5Mbps bandwidth of the Bluetooth 5 in comparison to 2.1 Mbps of the Bluetooth 4.
Support for IoT devices
Bluetooth 5 easily meets the requirements for IoT devices with its good range and increase in speed while Bluetooth 4 does not due to its low speed and start working range. That means IoT devices will work well with Bluetooth 5 and utilize all its features properly.
Compatibility
Bluetooth 4 works best with devices that are compatible with version 4 series but will not work with devices that have Bluetooth 5 while Bluetooth 5 backword compile with v1, v2, v3, v4, v4.1, and version 4.2 but will not utilize all the features of Bluetooth 5.
The Comparison Table shows how much Bluetooth 5 better from Bluetooth 4.2.


Q. What is the range of Bluetooth 5?
A. The latest Bluetooth version, Bluetooth 5 allows low-energy transmissions offering data range for more range. The theoretically proven range for Bluetooth 5 for a maximum of around 800 feet which is up to four times the range of Bluetooth 4.2 LE.
Q. Is Bluetooth 5.0 backwards compatible?
A. Yes, Bluetooth 5.0 is totally backwards-compatible with previously introduced Bluetooth smart technology such as Bluetooth 4.0, Bluetooth 4.1 and Bluetooth 4.2 devices. However, you can continue using your existing Bluetooth 4.2 and older devices.
Q. Is wireless the same as Bluetooth?
A. Not all wireless products are Bluetooth, However both wireless technology and Bluetooth control over the radio frequency. The main difference between this technologies are Bluetooth have short distance range while Wi-Fi provides high-speed access for large distance range.
Q. Can I upgrade my Bluetooth version?
A. Heres what you have to do. You can check what version of Bluetooth your smartphone or device support. If your device does not support the latest Bluetooth technology. You need to search a Bluetooth Adapter with current Bluetooth 5.0 version in Bluetooth SIG website. By Plugging into USB Port, you can actually upgrade your device with the latest version.
Q. How to check Bluetooth version on Android?
A. You need to first enable Bluetooth on your Android Phone. Go to Settings > Applications > and Select Running Applications. Now you can find Bluetooth icon with Bluetooth Share and click on it. In the first service option, you will get your Bluetooth version.

Conclusion:
Everybody wants to move with the new trends that keep coming, Bluetooth 5.0 is much better than the previous Bluetooth versions which include increased data rate, faster range, and more broadcast capacity. In this case, Bluetooth 5.0 become popular in IoT(Internet of Things), smartphones, Bluetooth beacons, and various tech device