Core specifications of 'Bluetooth 6.1' announced, reducing battery consumption and enhancing privacy

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) announced the core specification of ' Bluetooth 6.1 ' on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Going forward, the Bluetooth core specification is scheduled to be updated every six months.

Delivering on the bi-annual release schedule: Bluetooth® Core 6.1 is here | Bluetooth® Technology Website
https://www.bluetooth.com/blog/delivering-on-the-bi-annual-release-schedule-bluetooth-core-6-1-is-here/

The main update of Bluetooth 6.1 is the introduction of 'Randomized RPA'. With previous versions of Bluetooth, there was a risk that a third party could track a device by using the timing of the address change as a clue. By introducing Randomized RPA, it is possible to randomize the timing of the address change, making it difficult for a third party to track the device.

Additionally, the address change operations in Randomized RPA are offloaded to the controller, improving device battery life.

The Bluetooth 6.1 core specification can be downloaded from the following link.

Core Specification | Bluetooth® Technology Website
https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/core-specification-2/

There is also an HTML version of the core specification available.

Bluetooth Core Specification
https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/Specification/HTML/Core-61/out/en/index-en.html

The Bluetooth SIG has changed the Bluetooth core specification release cycle to 'twice a year (every six months).' Bluetooth SIG Chairman Alain Michaud said, 'The new release cycle will enable developers and manufacturers to take advantage of incremental improvements to Bluetooth more quickly. This will accelerate innovation and enable faster response to changing market needs.'