Nordic Semiconductor Validates Bluetooth HDT on Silicon

Nordic Semiconductor has announced that it successfully validated Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) functionality on silicon. The technology is expected to be included in an upcoming Bluetooth Core Specification and is designed to increase Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) data rates to 7.5 Mbps.

Nordic plans to make Bluetooth HDT available to developers through its nRF Connect SDK. The silicon validation marks a step toward that goal, though it does not by itself establish when developers will be able to use the feature in products.

Where higher throughput could help

Faster data transfer could reduce the time needed to deliver firmware updates to smart home products and retrieve diagnostic files from industrial IoT devices. The practical improvement will depend on how the technology is implemented and the conditions under which devices exchange data.

For developers, the next developments to watch are the inclusion of HDT in the Bluetooth Core Specification and its availability through Nordic's SDK. Those steps will help determine how the validated functionality can be used in connected products.