# item.guide
Side-by-Side Comparison Bluetooth

Bluetooth 5 vs. Bluetooth Classic

Comparing 2 standards across 14 specifications. 14 key differences identified.

Comparing:
Bluetooth 5
Bluetooth Classic

Bluetooth 5 (encompassing v5.0 through v5.3) significantly expanded Bluetooth Low Energy with 2 Mbps high-speed (2M PHY), up to 4x range extension via forward error-corrected Long Range (Coded PHY), 8x advertising broadcast capacity (Advertising Extensions), and Isochronous Channels (v5.2).

View full Bluetooth 5 spec sheet →

Bluetooth Classic encompasses Bluetooth Core Specifications v1.0 through v3.0 + HS. Operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band across 79 channels with Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS), it established wireless audio (A2DP), hands-free telephony (HFP), and serial peripheral connectivity (SPP/HID) at data rates up to 3 Mbps.

View full Bluetooth Classic spec sheet →

Specification Comparison Table

14 Parameters
Parameter / Spec
Bluetooth Versions
v5.0 (2016), v5.1 (2019), v5.2 (2020), v5.3 (2021)
2M High-Speed PHY
2 Mbps (halves transmission on-air time)
LE Coded Long Range PHY
500 kbps (S=2) / 125 kbps (S=8, 4x range, up to 1km line of sight)
Advertising Payload Capacity
255 bytes (up from 31 bytes via secondary channels)
Direction Finding (v5.1)
Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD)
Isochronous Channels (v5.2)
Time-synchronized streams for LE Audio
Connection Subrating (v5.3)
Fast switching between low-latency and low-power states
Bluetooth Generations
v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v2.0 + EDR, v2.1 + EDR, v3.0 + HS
Frequency Bands
2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz (79 RF channels @ 1 MHz spacing)
Modulation Schemes
GFSK (Basic Rate 1 Mbps), π/4-DQPSK (EDR 2 Mbps), 8DPSK (EDR 3 Mbps)
Max BR/EDR PHY Rate
3 Mbps
Frequency Hopping Rate
1,600 hops/sec (AFH–Adaptive Frequency Hopping)
Key Audio Profiles
A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), HFP, HSP, AVRCP
Supported Audio Codecs
SBC (Mandatory), AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC