Bluetooth 5 to Help Boost Device Shipments to 5 Billion by 2021, Says Report

​The impending arrival of Bluetooth 5 and its technical enhancements will help boost Bluetooth-enabled device shipments to more than 5 billion units in 2021, ABI Research said in a Monday report. Bluetooth 5, coming late 2016 or early 2017, will include “significantly increased” range, speed and broadcast messaging capacity, said the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in a June announcement. With Bluetooth 5, the platform “will extend beyond cable replacements and smartphones to branch out into the wider IoT landscape and result in the development of larger scale networks that no longer rely on the smartphone as a hub,” ABI said. “Bluetooth is evolving from a smartphone and personal area network solution to a scalable, low-power wireless networking technology,” it said. “This development will unlock growth in beacons, home automation, building automation, lighting, and other smart city applications over the next decade and beyond.” By 2021, smartphones still will be 40 percent of Bluetooth product shipments, but that will be down 12 percent in volume share from 2015, it said.