Bluetooth 4.2 Standard Final With IPv6 Support, Better Security and Speed

The Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group) on Wednesday has announced a new Bluetooth standard, version 4.2, with faster transfer speed, all new privacy features, optimised wireless technology for Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems, and more.

With Bluetooth 4.2 and its Internet Protocol Support Profile (IPSP), supported devices will be able to access the Internet directly over IPv6 and 6LoWPAN - perfect for IoT devices. Mark Powell, Executive Director of the Bluetooth SIG, says, "Bluetooth Smart is the only technology that can scale with the market, provide developers the flexibility to innovate, and be the foundation for the IoT."

The new standard, Bluetooth 4.2, increases the transfer speed to 2.5 times faster than the previous version, with increased capacity of Bluetooth Smart packets, also reducing the number of errors in transmission and the battery consumption of connected devices.

The new privacy features in Bluetooth 4.2 are said to make it harder to track a device without user permission. "For example, when shopping in a retail store with beacons, unless you've enabled permission for the beacon to engage with your device, you can't be tracked," notes Bluetooth SIG.

While the final version of Bluetooth 4.2 is now adopted by Bluetooth SIG, it will take some time to reach end-users as the final implementation process by manufactures will only start with this announcement.

Reportedly, for older Bluetooth adapters, only some of the privacy features will be available via a firmware update. "Privacy features may be available via firmware update, but it does ultimately depend on the manufacturer implementation. [...] The increased speed and packet size features will require a hardware update," a representative for the Bluetooth SIG told Arstechnica.