A huge Bluetooth upgrade is set to boost your iPhone and Androids' privacy and battery life.
In the midst of iPhone 13 users getting a free upgrade and all the game-changing features of iOS 18.5 to come, Bluetooth 6.1 has just been announced.
Building on the Bluetooth 6 release from September 2024, the update will be a double win for both your phone's privacy and battery life.
For starters, Bluetooth 6.1 protocol brings with it Randomized RPA Updates. In this instance, RPA stands for resolvable private address, and this feature is all about making your device more difficult to track.
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Currently, Bluetooth 6.0, your phone's identifier address changes on a set timer, making it easier for third parties to track your device’s movements.
But with Bluetooth 6.1's new Randomized RPA Updates, those changes will happen randomly, anywhere from every eight to 15 minutes. Additionally, these times can be customised to anywhere between a second to an hour, eliminating the update pattern and making it a lot harder for anyone to trace your movements or exploit your device.
But that's not all. The update also shifts these address changes to the Bluetooth chip instead of your phone’s CPU. By doing so, your device won't have to work as hard which will help save some battery life. So, a better power efficiency is better for those regular users of fitness trackers, smartwatches and AirPods that can drain battery over time.
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According to the official Bluetooth website, the benefits are described as: "Increased device privacy: Randomizing the timing of address changes makes it much more difficult for third parties to track or correlate device activity over time.
"Improved power efficiency: The Bluetooth Randomized RPA Updates feature offloads the address change operation to the Controller, helping conserve battery life."
Bluetooth 6.1 is part of the protocol’s new bi-annual release schedule, so we might start seeing it in devices as soon as this year.
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Although, it seems more likely to roll out in 2026.
Apple is known to adopt new tech in its products pretty quickly, so it's possible the iPhone 17 series could be the first to get it.
Ideally, this schedule should make it easier for manufacturers to implement the tech of new gadgets faster, but this is still the first announcement, so there's a while to go.
Commenting on the bi-annual schedule, Alain Michaud, chair of the Bluetooth SIG Board of Directors, said: “This new cadence will ensure that incremental improvements and features can reach developers and manufacturers faster, fueling innovation and helping them meet the evolving needs of the market with greater agility.”