By Manuel Nau, Lead Editor at IoT Business News.
Nordic Semiconductor has shown Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) in the silicon prototype, showing how the future Bluetooth Low Energy Improvements can significantly speed up data transfer without requiring IoT device manufacturers to use different wireless technologies.
Bluetooth Low Energy has become the standard connectivity choice for battery-powered IoT devices, but its relatively limited data throughput can limit applications that need to transfer larger files, firmware updates, or richer sensor data. Manufacturers facing these requirements often have to consider adding Wi-Fi, introducing additional hardware, power consumption, and integration complexity.
The upcoming Bluetooth LE upgrade could help bridge that gap. On October 29, Nordic Semiconductor announced that it has demonstrated Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) operating on a silicon prototype, providing an early hardware implementation of a feature expected to be part of the Bluetooth specification in 2026.
The development is significant as HDT aims to increase the maximum data transfer capabilities of Bluetooth LE by nearly four times while retaining the technology’s existing connectivity ecosystem. Nordic is one of the first semiconductor vendors to demonstrate this feature in used hardware.
More Available Through New Radio Technology
Unlike previous Bluetooth LE speed improvements, HDT introduces changes to radio modulation and packet handling.
Bluetooth LE currently supports 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps physical layers (PHYs). HDT introduces additional PHY options using advanced modulation schemes, combined with advanced error correction. It also supports longer packets, reducing the proportion of transmission time consumed by protocol overhead.
Nordic’s technical demonstration, conducted between two system-on-chip (SoCs) prototypes, gives an indication of potential improvements.
In an initial test transferring a 2 MB file, the fastest HDT configuration achieved about 3.8 Mbps of average throughput, completing the transfer in four seconds. Under the same test conditions, the Bluetooth LE 2M achieved about 1.4 Mbps and took 12 seconds, while the LE 1M averaged about 0.76 Mbps and took 22 seconds.
The measurements were taken in an office environment using a 508-byte payload. Nordic has indicated that more detailed laboratory benchmarking will be conducted, meaning the results should not be interpreted as guaranteed performance in real-world deployments.
Speed Gains Come With Technical Trade-offs
One important aspect of HDT is that higher throughput does not always benefit every Bluetooth application equally.
The specification introduces five new PHYs, designated HDT2, HDT3, HDT4, HDT6, and HDT7.5, providing a different balance between throughput, radio sensitivity, and operating conditions.
The higher speed mode requires better link quality, while the lower rate mode can be more effective when signal conditions deteriorate. HDT also introduces link quality feedback designed to support dynamic PHY switching.
Package size is also important. Longer transmissions can make more efficient use of available radio bandwidth, but the benefits become less important for applications that exchange small amounts of data. Nordic’s technical analysis shows that HDT may be worse than Bluetooth LE 2M for very short packets.
For IoT developers, this means HDT is not automatically the best choice for every battery-powered sensor. Devices that send occasional temperature readings, status messages, or other small payloads may not benefit from existing Bluetooth LE configurations.
Another consideration is hardware compatibility. Because HDT requires different radio modulation capabilities, existing Bluetooth LE SoCs cannot achieve full HDT functionality through software updates alone. A new compatible silicone will be required.
Potential Benefits for IoT Device Manufacturers
The most obvious opportunities are in applications that change data volumes periodically while still being constrained by power consumption and hardware complexity.
Devices and connected health devices can benefit from faster synchronization of stored information. Smart home products can reduce the time required for firmware updates, while industrial devices can transfer diagnostic files more efficiently during maintenance operations.
Higher throughput can also support richer data exchange between connected peripherals and smartphones, including images, compressed video, and other content beyond the practical capabilities of conventional Bluetooth LE connections.
For OEMs, the architectural implications are particularly relevant. Some products now require a combination of Bluetooth LE for low-power connectivity and Wi-Fi for larger transfers. HDT has the potential to eliminate the need for such a second radio in applications where bandwidth requirements do not match its capabilities.
This will simplify certain device architectures, although the actual power and cost benefits will depend on the characteristics of upcoming HDT chipsets and their implementation.
These developments also coincide with the broader evolution of Bluetooth silicon towards more capable IoT endpoints. As previously explored in IoT Business News coverage of the Bluetooth IC market shift toward the IoT and AI edge, higher data throughput can expand the types of information that compact wireless devices exchange with nearby processing systems.
From Silicon Demonstration to Commercial Availability
Nordic aims to integrate Bluetooth HDT into established software and development environments, so customers can work with familiar tools instead of using completely different connectivity stacks.
However, the announcement remains a technology demonstration rather than the launch of a commercially available chipset. Nordic has yet to announce a specific product release date or detailed specifications for its upcoming HDT-capable SoC.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is expected to finalize the HDT specification by the end of 2026. Nordic plans to present the technology at electronica 2026 in Munich.
The long-term meaning will depend on the adoption of the ecosystem. Higher throughput requires compatible hardware at both ends of the connection, making support from smartphones, gateways, and other Bluetooth hosts an important consideration for IoT manufacturers.
Now, the Nordic demonstration has determined that the upcoming HDT capabilities can be used in silicon. The next challenge will be translating these capabilities into commercially operable devices, which provide meaningful improvements in real-world IoT deployments.