Bluetooth Low Energy is a wireless protocol introduced in 2010 to enable quick and easy connection between devices and smartphones. It also allows creating device to device connections without smartphones, but has been used to connect appcessories to iPhones, for example. BLE can connect:

Smartphones such as iPhone and Android devices to BLE devices such as smartwatches
BLE device to BLE devices. For example, a Garage Door opener can connect to a BLE garage remote

Although Bluetooth Classic and BLE share some common components, they are not compatible. Rather, they work side by side. A BLE radio can't connect to a Bluetooth radio unless that Bluetooth radio supports BLE (called Dual Mode).

The Bluetooth specification provides for security using authentication and encryption which protects data. ​These security features need to be enabled. Devices before Bluetooth 4.2 are generally insecure because of the algorithms used.

Beacons are BLE devices that transmit standard packets. Devices that are nearby like smartphones can receive these packets and trigger events. For example, Beacons are used in retail stores to help the user interact and provide custom offers.

Before the adoption Bluetooth 5.2 specification, BLE was limited in its ability to stream audio. This was usually done using custom implementations The audio would be compressed to reduce the data rate and usually didn't need real time low latency. For example, TV Voice Remotes commonly use BLE to transmit the request when you press the button. However, streaming quality audio was not possible. With the introduction of Bluetooth 5.2, Audio streaming over BLE is possible.

Bluetooth 5.2 introduced features for improved power consumption, coexistence, a game-changing feature for natively supporting audio over Bluetooth Low Energy (LE Audio), and laid the foundation for new use cases such as multi-stream audio and broadcast for audio sharing.

LE Audio is the latest in Bluetooth audio technology. It finally standardizes audio over the low power and low bandwidth Bluetooth LE radio. LE Audio will change the way we experience audio forever as it promises the following:

Longer battery life for wireless audio equipment.
Enhanced user experience.
Sharing audio wirelessly in new and innovative ways.
New generation of hearing aids.
In addition to the ISOC, the Low Complexity Communications audio codec (LC3) is an essential feature closely related to LE Audio. The audio codec facilitates compressing the raw audio data so that it can be sent efficiently over the air while maintaining high quality and - fidelity.

Related LE Audio, we are offering Bluetooth Low Energy module PTR9840/ STR40 and Bluetooth LE Audio Solution.

Bluetooth LE is taking the lead in the IoT domain as it offers unprecedented flexibility in balancing power consumption, throughput, and range. Besides, it supports multiple network topologies, including point-to-point, broadcast, and mesh networking.

Bluetooth Classic is used to connect headsets, speakers and other audio devices to smartphones and tablets. BLE is used mainly to exchange data. Bluetooth Classic can also exchange data, but BLE is quickly replacing it because it's lower power, lower cost and faster to connect. Bluetooth Classic can be used to connect many devices, even if it's not as good as BLE.

Bluetooth LE is taking the lead in the IoT domain as it offers unprecedented flexibility in balancing power consumption, throughput, and range. Besides, it supports multiple network topologies, including point-to-point, broadcast, and mesh networking.

Bluetooth Classic is used to connect headsets, speakers and other audio devices to smartphones and tablets. BLE is used mainly to exchange data. Bluetooth Classic can also exchange data, but BLE is quickly replacing it because it's lower power, lower cost and faster to connect. Bluetooth Classic can be used to connect many devices, even if it's not as good as BLE.

Interference issues can be addressed in several ways, including adjusting the transmission power of our BLE devices, increasing the number of BLE bacons in the environment, or using signal filtering techniques to reduce interference from other wireless signals in the same frequency range.