Bluetooth Core 6.1 Specification Brings Randomized RPA for Better Privacy, Boosted Battery Life
New Core Specification is the Special Interest Group's first under a new bi-annual release schedule.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) has announced the latest version of the wireless communication standard's core specification, Bluetooth Core 6.1 — following the adoption of a new bi-annual release schedule.
"Moving to a bi-annual release cycle for the Bluetooth Core Specification represents a pivotal step forward for the entire Bluetooth technology ecosystem," claims Bluetooth SIG board of directors chair Alain Michaud. "This new cadence will ensure that incremental improvements and features can reach developers and manufacturers faster, fueling innovation and helping them meet the evolving needs of the market with greater agility."
The first under the new release schedule, Bluetooth Core 6.1 introduces a new feature designed to improve privacy and power efficiency: Bluetooth Randomized Resolvable Private Address (RPA). This, the SIG explains, randomizes the timing of address changes in order to make it considerably harder for third parties to track individual devices or correlate their activity over time.
Bluetooth Randomized RPA isn't just about boosting privacy, though: the new feature of the specification also requires that the address change operation itself is offloaded to the Bluetooth Controller, meaning that there should be a corresponding gain in battery life too.
The Bluetooth Core Specification 6.1 is now available for free download on the Bluetooth SIG website; no timescale has been given for when the first devices supporting Bluetooth Randomized RPA will be available on the market.