Technologies

Bluetooth 6.0: What You Need to Know About the Future of Wireless Headphones

Bluetooth got a major upgrade, and it’s already showing up in phones and headphones. Here’s what to expect and what we’re still waiting for.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced version 6.0 of the near-ubiquitous wireless technology in Sept. 2024, adding some major new features that aim to improve Bluetooth’s reliability, security, smoothness and efficiency. It might even get you a greater range between your headphones and phone, as well as longer battery life.

We’re finally seeing devices arrive with Bluetooth 6.0, including phones from Apple and Google, as well as headphones and earbuds. Here’s what you need to know about Bluetooth 6.0 and how it will affect wireless connectivity for years to come.

Main improvements of Bluetooth 6.0

Latency

Latency is the time between an audio signal being sent and when you actually hear it. The higher the latency, the more annoying it can be — think of when the sound lags behind the video in movies or games. Most Bluetooth (5.0 and newer) devices have latency somewhere between 50 to 100 milliseconds, depending on gear and configuration, which is noticeable to most people.

Bluetooth 6.0’s new isochronous adaptive layer, or ISOAL, allows devices to break up audio data into smaller chunks for quicker processing. In theory, this has the potential to reduce latency, and it’s possible that we might see latency under 10 milliseconds under ideal conditions, such as close range, no obstacles and no interference.

We expect that under real-world conditions, the majority of setups will operate at a latency of around 20 milliseconds, which would still represent a significant improvement over Bluetooth 5.x.

Location tracking and security

One of the new spec’s most buzzworthy features is called Channel Sounding, which provides a significant improvement in the accuracy of device location tracking. It relies on a back-and-forth exchange of data packets between connected devices and a combination of time stamps and frequency analysis, rather than the old, less accurate method of just measuring relative signal strength.

Channel Sounding is a boon for Apple’s Find My and its Google and Samsung equivalents, offering location accuracy down to approximately 10 centimeters, along with improved resistance to obstacles and interference. It also enables enhanced security for Bluetooth lock systems using a combination of encryption, randomization and location cross-referencing to ensure some random person isn’t unlocking your car or front door.

Power efficiency and pairing speed

The same features that reduce latency also help with power efficiency: Everything behaves intelligently to use more power for keeping audio and video in sync for things like gaming, and less power for less intensive applications like audiobooks. This flexibility is especially crucial for wireless earbuds, which require the most effective power management due to their compact size.

The process of scanning for nearby Bluetooth devices is also being upgraded, with decision-based advertiser filtering and monitoring. Advertising in this case doesn’t refer to selling you products. Basically, it’s a set of headphones broadcasting, «I’m a headset, and I’m nearby and ready to connect.»

Instead of constantly shouting, «Is anyone there?!» to see if there’s anything nearby to connect to, Bluetooth 6.0 devices will keep track when previously paired devices go in and out of range. This should save precious battery life, make pairing quicker and provide smoother multipoint switching.

What Bluetooth 6.0 doesn’t do

Improved Bluetooth sound quality (maybe)

Were you waiting for reliable, wireless lossless audio transmission from your phone to your headphones? Still not there yet.

Astute readers who note that CD-quality lossless audio transmission requires 1.4Mbps of throughput speed may wonder why Bluetooth 6.0’s theoretical 3Mbps isn’t enough. It’s because much of Bluetooth’s bandwidth is taken up by overhead — a bunch of ancillary data that’s required for secure Bluetooth connections that has nothing to do with audio. While there are some codecs that promise high-quality wireless audio, lossless CD-quality audio remains elusive.

Bluetooth 6.0 does bring the optional long-discussed LC3plus codec, which can transmit up to 24-bit and 96kHz audio. However, unlike «regular» LC3, this is an optional codec that has a separate licensing fee. That means there will be limited adoption compared to the more popular codecs. Remember, both your device and headphones must be compatible with LC3plus for it to work. How well it works and whether it can reliably transmit 24/96 in the real world remain to be seen.

A future incremental revision of Bluetooth 6.0 promises to add a high-data-throughput feature that will open up usable bandwidth for lossless streaming, potentially by using other frequency bands besides the crowded 2.4GHz band, to achieve speeds of up to 7.5Mbps. That should provide enough headroom to enable high-res audio streams, though it’s unclear if manufacturers will adopt the right codecs for lossless Bluetooth audio via headphones. Given past and current adoption rates for different Bluetooth codecs, it is unlikely to be Apple, and this technology will instead first find its way into lesser-known Android phones.

Where to find Bluetooth 6.0 right now

If you want to get a head start on Bluetooth 6.0 compatibility, there are a handful of devices already shipping (though not all of these are available in the US).

Google Pixel 10
iPhone 17
Sony Xperia 1 VII
Xiaomi 16
Edifier Doo Ace 2 headphones
Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus true wireless earbuds

Technologies

Grab TCL’s Already-Affordable and Eye-Catching Phone for Even Less With a $70 Discount

This $70 Big Spring Sale discount drops the price to just $180, but there’s no telling how long the offer will last.

With a list price of $250, the TCL NxtPaper is an impressive budget phone that, in many ways, outperforms the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G at a similar price. It’s even better now that Amazon has dropped it by $70 during its Big Spring Sale, which brings the price of both black and white models to just $180.

There is no telling how long this deal will last, however, so be sure to get your order in sooner rather than later.

This phone hits top marks for everyday use. Its screen is large, the 120Hz refresh rate is buttery smooth, and the battery lasted CNET writer Tyler Graham throughout the entire day, even with frequent use. If you take a lot of selfies, you’ll enjoy a big 32-megapixel upgrade to the front-facing camera, though the camera system is otherwise similar to the TCL 50 series phones.

The shiny bonus features on the TCL NxtPaper 60 XE are the eponymous NxtPaper digital ink and e-reader modes and cloud-based TCL AI. You may not use these features often, but they are solid value adds to this budget phone. The 60 XE is working off a MediaTek Dimensity 6100 Plus processor with 8GB of memory.

«Compared to other phones in a similar price range, the TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G delivers where it counts for day-to-day use,» Graham wrote in his review, «and its impressive bells and whistles sweetened my experience with the phone.»

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Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

The TCL NxtPaper 60 XE is one of the most unusual smartphones we have reviewed recently. It definitely is worth considering if you’re on the lookout for a new budget handset. It is already fairly inexpensive, but this Spring Sale deal makes it a no-brainer for those looking for something a little different. Just make sure you get your order in sooner rather than later, as this deal could end at any time.

Technologies

Anthropic’s Claude Can Now Take Over Your Computer to Do Tasks for You

The developer is boosting Claude’s agentic capabilities in an apparent effort to compete with platforms like OpenClaw.

You can now let Claude take control of your computer to perform tasks like sending you a file you left on your hard drive, the AI’s developer Anthropic announced Monday. For the feature to work, you just need to be on a qualifying subscription plan.

In the wake of the viral explosion of the open-source OpenClaw framework earlier this year, Anthropic is the latest developer to deliver a tool that enables an AI model to act more independently.

OpenClaw has spawned an entire ecosystem of «claws,» or AI tools that can take simple commands and perform them somewhat autonomously on your computer or with your tools or systems. Nvidia last week debuted NemoClaw, its framework for easily setting up and installing OpenClaw, with some security settings.

Anthropic says that Claude will look for the right tools to complete the task at hand via connectors with apps like Google Calendar or Slack. If the tool or connector isn’t available, Claude can manually perform the task by typing or moving the cursor, as if it were using the keyboard and mouse. It can use programs like your web browser, dev tools and open files.

When it’s performing these tasks, it can use a computer as you normally would — by scrolling and clicking around. The only difference is that Claude will always ask for permission beforehand. You can stop Claude from performing a task at any time.

Giving your chatbot the keys to your computer can be convenient for certain tasks, but it can leave your computer vulnerable to attacks. Experts told us one major worry with agentic AI is that it can take major, sometimes dramatic actions quickly and with little warning. Claws can also be hijacked by malicious actors, who can use your personal data and systems in ways you don’t want.

Anthropic says it implemented safeguards to minimize risks like prompt injections. The system will automatically scan for this and more vulnerabilities as they are implemented.

Despite some of its efforts to keep Claude’s computer use safe, Anthropic also provides a warning to users. The feature is new and may contain errors, and the company suggests not using apps that handle sensitive data — so much so that some of these apps are disabled by default.

The research preview is available now for Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers and limited to computers running MacOS.

Anthropic says the new computer-use feature works well with Dispatch, which allows you to assign tasks to Claude using your phone. Such tasks include checking your email every morning or opening up a Claude Cowork or Claude Code session.

The combination of computer use for Claude and Dispatch enables you to do even more while you’re not even around. Anthropic says the feature combo can create a morning briefing or run tests, for example.

Given that both features are new, some complex tasks might not work the first time. Anthropic said it’s releasing this research preview to gain early insight on where it needs the most attention to become an even more powerful tool.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for March 28, #1743

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for March 28, No. 1,743.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tricky one, with a double letter. Sherlock Holmes fans, you might get this one right away. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels, but one is the repeated letter, so you’ll see it twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with T.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to something that is already underway or happening.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AFOOT.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, March 27, No. 1742, was IVORY.

Recent Wordle answers

March 23, No. 1738: SERIF

March 24, No. 1739: BROOD

March 25, No. 1740: WISER

March 26, No. 1741: BEFIT

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE