Bluetooth SIG outlines pandemic effect on Bluetooth growth

Update: March 31, 2021

Bluetooth SIG outlines pandemic effect on Bluetooth growth

Effectively, with total shipments remaining at the 4 billion mark, it sees growth in Bluetooth shipments shifted out by one year,

A report it has produced predicts that some markets, including wearables and locating systems, expect to experience substantial growth. It believes that annual Bluetooth-enabled device shipments will increase from four billion last year to more than six billion by 2025.

Healthcare environments relying on Bluetooth medical devices and solutions to minimise exposure and improve patient care increased over last year, it says, with an additional projected 5x growth in Bluetooth healthcare location services implementations expected by 2025.

The transition to working from home also drove growth in Bluetooth PC accessories, with 153 million Bluetooth PC accessories shipped in 2020, exceeding last year’s forecast by 10 percent. It also expects 205 million Bluetooth wearables to ship in 2021.

“We are all very proud of how the Bluetooth member community rose to the challenges of 2020, and appreciate that so many members are working tirelessly to develop innovations that help manage the pandemic,” commented Mark Powell, CEO, Bluetooth SIG.

“This rally to help is the latest example of our community bringing innovators together for a common cause — to develop technology advancements that create a safer, more connected world.”

The SIG described Bluetooth commercial connected lighting as remaining “largely resilient” during the pandemic.

LE Audio

LE Audio – involving Bluetooth earbuds and speakers – will also drive significant volume and use case growth for the future, states the SIG, resulting in 1.5x growth in annual shipments from 2021 through 2025.

It says that Bluetooth Audio Sharing, by increasing accessibility for people with hearing loss, will become the modern, high-quality, low-cost assistive listening system (ALS).

You can download a free copy of the report online.