The Bluetooth special interest group (SIG) has unveiled its next-generation of audio encoding at CES in Las Vegas, with new encoding to squeeze sound signals into Bluetooth LE bandwidth.

It is called Bluetooth LE Audio.

“Not only will LE Audio enhance Bluetooth audio performance, it will add support for hearing aids and enable ‘audio sharing’, an entirely new use case,” according to the SIG. “Bluetooth audio will soon support two operation modes. LE Audio will operate on the Bluetooth Low Energy radio while Classic Audio operates on the Bluetooth Classic radio. LE Audio will support development of the same audio products and use-cases as Classic Audio.”

‘Low complexity communication codec’ (LC3) has been adopted to reduced the data bandwidth necessary to transmit audio.

“Extensive listening tests have shown that LC3 will provide improvements in audio quality over the SBC codec included with Classic Audio, even at a 50% lower bit rate,” claimed Fraunhofer IIS head of audio communication Manfred Lutzky, adding that it will also save power.

‘Multi-stream’ audio is another feature, allowing the transmission of multiple, independent, synchronised audio streams between one audio source device, such as a phone, and one or more audio sink devices.

“Developers will be able to use the multi-stream feature to improve the performance of products like truly wireless earbuds,” said WiFore Consulting CTO Nick Hunn. “For example, they can provide a better stereo imaging experience, make the use of voice assistant services more seamless, and make switching between multiple audio source devices smoother.”

Hunn is also chairman of the SIG’s hearing aid communication group, and hearing aids have been included in the new standard, according to Stefan Zimmer, secretary general of the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA).

“LE Audio will be one of the most significant advances for users of hearing aids and hearing implants,” he said. “EHIMA engineers have contributed their specialist knowledge to improve the audio experience especially for hard of hearing people. As a result, within a few years most new phones and TVs will be equally accessible to users with hearing loss.”

LE Audio will also add a broadcast capability. It will “enable an audio source device to broadcast one or more audio streams to an unlimited number of audio sink devices,” said the SIG. “Broadcast Audio opens significant new opportunities for innovation, including the enablement of a new Bluetooth use case, Audio Sharing.”

Bluetooth audio sharing can be personal or location-based.

With personal audio sharing, people will be able to share their Bluetooth audio experience with others around them; for example, sharing music from a smartphone with family and friends.

With location-based audio sharing, public venues such as airports, bars, gyms, cinemas, and conference centers can now share Bluetooth audio with visitors. “For example,” said SIG director Peter Liu, “people will be able to select the audio being broadcast by silent TVs in public venues, and places like theaters and lecture halls will be able to share audio to assist visitors with hearing loss as well as provide audio in multiple languages.”

Specifications for LE Audio are scheduled to be available during the first half of 2020.