We have a Bluetooth 5.0 USB dongle or PCIe card in stock.
We have a Bluetooth 5.0 USB dongle or PCIe card in stock.
Please note, it's not Bluetooth 5.0. There's no point numbers now. It's just Bluetooth 5. Why do you want one? If you're a system integrator trying to play around with it for product development your best bet right now is the reference boards. If you're a consumer, there's no benefit in it for you anytime in the foreseeable future. The speed benefit for full Bluetooth was dropped due to power constraints, so you only get Bluetooth Smart performance improvements. Increased Bluetooth Smart (Low Energy) bandwidth, range, and PAN device capacity. The Snapdragon 835 has Bluetooth 5 to tick a feature checklist for consumers. That's why the S8 and Pixel 2 and other devices have it. Not because it has any real-world benefit for end users. We won't likely see Bluetooth 5 dongles for another year or two, until after there's some Bluetooth 5 peripherals available. You can find some cheap knockoff adapters that support 4.2. Its just a firmware/driver stack update. Keep in mind Windows 7, 8, and 10 only have up to 4.1 support in the built in Bluetooth stack, no 4.2 or 5. Bluez on Linux supports 4.2 and parts of 5, but isn't certified for 5 yet. If you plan to use it with Linux make sure you're running the latest version of bluez, since most distros have older packages for stability.
Dual audio isn't a brand-new Bluetooth 5 feature. The updates to Bluetooth 5 mainly focus on enhancements for Bluetooth Smart (Low Energy) and its role in IoT applications. According to the Bluetooth 5 documentation, there are no modifications to a2dp, which handles audio transmission. "Dual Audio" seems to be a software workaround that exploits the radio's capability for multiple connections—it's not an official addition from Bluetooth 5. It's more about how drivers interact with the hardware rather than a new standard specification. The Snapdragon 835 in the S8 does feature a powerful built-in Bluetooth radio, but its strength lies in its design, not specifically in supporting Bluetooth 5. Edit: Note that Bluetooth 5 offers a much higher modem bandwidth (2Mbit/s) compared to earlier versions, while Bluetooth 2.0+EDR supports up to 3Mbit/s and even 24Mbit/s when paired with WiFi.
Additionally, he mentions faster performance with Bluetooth speakers, but in truth there’s no real improvement since the advantage stops after Bluetooth 4.0. Many current devices rely on Bluetooth 2.0's EDR mode, which already offers more than double the bandwidth compared to Bluetooth 4.0, though it consumes significantly more power.
The key aspects of version 5 seem to focus on trading speed for greater distance. Music requires minimal bandwidth, making it feasible to extend its range effectively. I owned a Sol Republic speaker paired with a Motorola BT (unspecified model) that offered about 400 feet of coverage. I haven’t encountered anything comparable again; I’m hoping version 5 will provide similar reach. Many laptops now include 5 in their wireless solutions, while desktop setups typically use M.2 to PCIe adapters that share the same wireless card on the motherboard.
Hi everyone. I recently purchased a JLAB headphone with Bluetooth 5, but discovered it wasn’t installed on my newer computer. The Dongle available is currently only on eBay, and all transmitters are pricier there. The good news is that Bluetooth 5 works with my budget J3pop, so I’m planning to use it mainly with my phone. For the cost of a transmitter, I could just swap in older headphones to get Bluetooth 4.0 compatibility. Anyway, feel free to update this thread as a new member—Google away! They’re finally available, of course. I guess some of you have been looking for them already.