Bluetooth SIG announces HDT with 7.5 Mbps bandwidth
The new Bluetooth High Data Throughput feature targets AI, spatial computing, XR and lossless audio, but Core 7.0 devices do not support it automatically.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) on November 4, according to tomshardware.com. The feature offers a maximum bandwidth of 7.5 Mbps, almost four times the 2 Mbps of Bluetooth LE 2M.
The group said HDT is intended for high-bandwidth uses including AI, spatial computing, XR and lossless audio transmission. The announcement also states that the feature offers improved reliability and lower power consumption.
Support is not automatic. Devices that comply with Bluetooth Core Specification 7.0 do not necessarily support HDT, and the Core 7.0 document requires HDT2, HDT3 and HDT4 when HDT is featured, while HDT6 and HDT7.5 are optional.
Why bandwidth matters for audio
Bluetooth LE 2M offered a maximum bandwidth of 2 Mbps, which could not reliably carry CD-quality lossless audio of about 1.4 Mbps, so audio was compressed with codecs such as SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC and LC3.
Quick answers
What is Bluetooth High Data Throughput?
It is a Bluetooth feature announced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group on November 4 that offers a maximum bandwidth of 7.5 Mbps.
Do Bluetooth Core Specification 7.0 devices support HDT?
Not automatically. The Core 7.0 document requires HDT2, HDT3 and HDT4 if HDT is featured, while HDT6 and HDT7.5 are optional.