Bluetooth is kind of like Wi-Fi’s smart but misunderstood cousin. The word “Bluetooth” conjures images of finance bros yelling into those obnoxious little earpieces more than what the technology actually does, which is connect devices together over short distances. Well, Bluetooth’s upcoming 4.2 spec may prove too useful to ignore: This revamped version of the technology will directly connect to the internet.
This means people who want to use Internet of Things-style smart home devices and connect appliances and other gadgets to the internet will be able to do so using Bluetooth as a hub. Bluetooth has been called out for not supporting internet protocol IPv6 in the past, which is one of the reasons gadgets like the Nest thermostat uses wireless networking protocol Thread instead of Bluetooth. But this new version fixes that, and will help Bluetooth compete against Thread.
If you’re an Internet of Thingshead, don’t get too excited. While 4.2 spec is available now, it hasn’t rolled out its connectivity features yet, and you’ll need to wait until devices implement the updated version (and you buy those devices) to be able to use it. [Engadget]