Bluetooth HDT lifts LE to 7.5 Mbps, with lossless audio due in 2027
· BehindLines newsroom
The Bluetooth SIG, the body that sets the standard, adopted a new radio layer called High Data Throughput (HDT) on 4 November 2026. It raises the top speed of Bluetooth Low Energy to 7.5 Mbps, up from 2 Mbps today. The first uses announced involve high-quality audio, expected in 2027.
What changes
According to audioXpress, HDT is an optional feature of the Bluetooth Core 7.0 specification. It adds a physical layer that stays in the 2.4 GHz band and combines denser modulation with error correction. Five rates are defined: 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7.5 Mbps. Also per audioXpress, rates up to 4 Mbps are mandatory for compatible devices, while 6 and 7.5 Mbps are optional.
A ceiling, not a measurement
Both sources stress one point: 7.5 Mbps is a raw radio rate. Usable throughput will be lower once protocol overhead is counted. Androidpure also notes that the gains the SIG promises (faster transfers, more reliable links, lower power use) are the organisation's claims, not measurements on products on sale.
No upgrade for today's devices
Per audioXpress, HDT needs new radio hardware: a device that supports only the older modulation cannot gain it through software. Androidpure, citing Android Authority, adds that both the phone and the earbuds must be compatible, and that a device sold as Bluetooth 7.0 does not necessarily include HDT. On chips, audioXpress mentions Realtek, which showed an HDT audio chip at Computex 2026, and a joint project by Ceva and Actions Technology; Androidpure says Qualcomm's FastConnect 8800 already advertises support.
What is still unknown
The SIG has not said which phones or earbuds will be first to support it, and no independent measurement of real-world speed has been published. The 2027 timeline is the organisation's expectation, not a retail date.