Bluetooth’s next big audio upgrade is coming, but not to your current devices

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the standards organization that oversees Bluetooth technology, today shared a significant update that could standardize lossless and high-resolution Bluetooth audio. It announced the adoption of Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT), which essentially increases Bluetooth LE’s maximum supported bit rate to 7.5Mbps. That’s nearly four times the current maximum.

For the regular user, this should eventually mean much wider access to lossless and high-resolution audio over Bluetooth in future wireless earbuds and headphones.

While some current products already offer high-res and lossless audio, they’re limited to proprietary technologies — Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless and Sony’s LDAC codec, for example. Here’s where HDT wants to come in and offer a more standardized foundation for premium wireless audio.

HDT increases how much data Bluetooth LE can carry at once by introducing a new physical layer (PHY) to the part of the Bluetooth chip responsible for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. Paired with modulation techniques, the SIG says HDT could raise the standard’s maximum supported bit rate from 2Mbps to 7.5Mbps.

More than just better Bluetooth audio

Apart from audio, the SIG highlighted other benefits of HDT too. Considering that the tech can move more data in less time, it is naturally more energy efficient.

Elsewhere, the tech should also improve connection reliability. According to the SIG, “Bluetooth HDT improves communication robustness and resilience, helping devices maintain more consistent wireless performance across a broader and more demanding range of operating environments.” This should make HDT useful for a range of connected devices beyond headphones, including wearables, smart glasses, smart home tech, and more.

Don’t expect this technology to make it to your current devices. HDT is an optional feature of Bluetooth Core 7.0. The organization didn’t say which specific phones or earbuds will first support the technology, so we’ll have to wait a bit to learn more.

For what it’s worth, Qualcomm’s newest connectivity system, the FastConnect 8800, is already advertised with Bluetooth 7 support and HDT capabilities, so at least we have a good idea of compatible smartphone hardware before the eventual arrival of compatible earbuds or headphones. The first audio devices with support for the new standard could appear in 2027.