We knew Microsoft has made some changes to Bluetooth in the Windows 10 April 2018 update, but Microsoft has not expanded much on the details. Since we were sniffing around in any case at the Bluetooth SIG we decided to see what exactly has changed, and came away pleasantly surprised. It appears Microsoft has quietly…
We knew Microsoft has made some changes to Bluetooth in the Windows 10 April 2018 update, but Microsoft has not expanded much on the details.
Since we were sniffing around in any case at the Bluetooth SIG we decided to see what exactly has changed, and came away pleasantly surprised.
It appears Microsoft has quietly upgraded the Bluetooth stack in Windows 10 from version 4.2 to version 5.0, which included a raft of new protocols, a full list of which can be seen below:
The items in bold are new profiles or updated versions of existing profiles.
We have already seen some benefit from this, for example, direct volume control where the volume on your Bluetooth headset changes the volume directly on your PC, or the ability to see battery levels of your accessories directly on your PC, or Microsoft’s new Swift pair technology, which lets you use proximity to pair devices.
It is quite encouraging to see Microsoft keep up with the rest of the industry and not being a version behind, and hopefully, we will see more of these new capabilities show up as new features in the operating system.
