What Is Bluetooth? The History, How It Works, and What’s Next – WIRED
If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDAlmost everyone uses Bluetooth every day, but what is it exactly? Bluetooth is a ubiquitous wireless connectivity standard that connects our headphones, speakers, smartwatches, and smart rings with our phones; headsets, keyboards, and mice with our laptops; and can even be used to broadcast audio to individuals or large audiences in public places with Auracast.In this Bluetooth guide, I’ll briefly explain how it works, review its two-decade history to describe the differences between versions, and examine what’s next for the standard.Bluetooth enables supported devices to connect wirelessly using high-frequency radio waves. Bluetooth relies on the same 2.4-GHz frequency band as 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi but, thanks to adaptive frequency-hopping (AFH), it avoids crowded frequencies and limits interference. Bluetooth also uses lower power, has less range, and isn’t as fast as 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi.Bluetooth has had its share of vulnerabilities, but it’s not too difficult to stay secure, and the latest versions are far more secure by design. Everyone has encountered Bluetooth pairing problems and annoying glitches—we have a guide to help you fix Bluetooth issues—but it’s a robust standard that remains enormously convenient and, consequently, hugely popular. Every version of Bluetooth is backward compatible, meaning a Bluetooth 5.3 device can connect to a Bluetooth 4.0 device. But the features and functionality are always limited by the older device.Companies employ Bluetooth in many proprietary features, like Apple’s AirDrop and Google’s Quick Share. While the U1 chip in Apple devices enables ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to determine the direction of your phone and help you share files with nearby devices, AirDrop uses Bluetooth for the initial discovery process and then switches to Wi-Fi to transmit files. Google merged Nearby Share with Samsung’s Quick Share in 2024, and much like AirDrop, it uses Bluetooth to establish a connection and then Wi-Fi to transfer files.These are just two examples. Google also has a standard called Fast Pair that quickly connects a wireless device with a smartphone, and it uses Bluetooth too.Bluetooth is named after King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson—the logo is a combination of his runes for his initials—who had a literal blue tooth (it was dead). He united Denmark and Norway in 958. This short-range radio technology grew from a 1996 meeting between Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia. The first version didn’t land until 1999, but Bluetooth didn’t take off until a few years later.The standard is managed by a not-for-profit Bluetooth Special Interest Group, or Bluetooth SIG, and it’s headquartered in the US. While there are thousands of members, the most influential companies help shape the direction of the standard and include companies like Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Apple, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Google.Every version brought myriad incremental improvements to make Bluetooth faster, more efficient, more secure, and less buggy, but we’re just going to run through the headline features here.One of the main reasons Bluetooth is so popular is because it’s easy to use. You can generally turn Bluetooth on via the settings of your phone or computer and find a menu of available devices to connect with. Sometimes you need to put the device you want to connect with into pairing mode, which may involve holding down a button (refer to the device manufacturer). There’s usually a pairing pop-up on one or both devices so you can accept the connection.Bluetooth support is built into the chipsets of many devices, but if your computer or laptop lacks it, you can always add it via a dongle, like this Asus Bluetooth 5.0 Adapter ($18) or this one from Plugable ($17). If range is an issue, this popular Techkey Bluetooth 5.3 Adapter ($22) includes an antenna to boost it.You can also add Bluetooth functionality to headphones, speakers, or car stereos that lack it with something like the 1Mii Bluetooth 5.3 Music Receiver ($17), but the device must have a 3.5-mm port or jack. We have also tested and like Scosche’s Bluetooth Radio Transmitter for cars ($30), which adds Bluetooth connectivity to vehicles without it through the cigarette lighter port.The most exciting new feature on the horizon for Bluetooth is Auracast. Announced by the Bluetooth (SIG) in 2022, the idea is that you will be able to broadcast and join audio streams in public places by selecting a stream from a list (as you currently do to join a Wi-Fi network), by scanning a QR code, or by tapping where you see an Auracast logo.Auracast will allow several people to connect to the same audio stream simultaneously and could be used to watch a movie together on a smartphone in the back of the car, get audio from TVs in public spaces like the gym, or enhance accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing who could stream audio directly to their hearing aids at a public concert.The catch is that devices must support Bluetooth 5.2 or later and the Public Broadcast Profile (PBP) to receive Auracast streams. It will likely take a while for devices with transmitter capabilities to roll out, though we may see plug-ins to enable this in the short term. Venue adoption is another piece of the puzzle, as they will have to deploy Auracast broadcast transmitters, so it may be a few years before this is widely available.Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.In your inbox: WIRED’s most ambitious, future-defining storiesDOGE takeover: Elon Musk’s toxicity could spell disaster for TeslaBig Story: A crypto crimefighter’s descent into Nigerian prisonI dated multiple AI partners at once. It got real weirdSummer Lab: Explore the future of tech with WIRED10% Off Wayfair Promo Code with sign-up20% off Dyson Promo Code$50 Off In-Person Tax Prep When You Switch From Your Tax Current ProviderUp to $500 off cameras at CanonSave extra 10% Off TurboTaxExclusive: Up To 50% Off 6 Boxes With Factor Promo CodeMore From WIREDReviews and Guides© 2025 Condé Nast. 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