Infineon Expands Portfolio With New Bluetooth Solutions for Smart Home Devices

Low-power smart home devices using the open source connectivity protocol Matter next year are in line for a performance boost following Infineon Technologies’ launch of two new Bluetooth solutions.

Infineon announced the launch of its new AIROC Bluetooth LE and 802.15.4 system on a chip earlier this month as a solution to connecting low-power smart home devices. Company officials say the protocols help enhance the performance of these devices while also enabling encrypted communication between devices in a Matter network. 

Sonal Chandrasekharan, vice president of Infineon’s Bluetooth product line, said with the launch the company is entering the 802.15.4 market to deliver these solutions with “seamless, secure connectivity to enable more convenient, energy efficient smart homes. 

Bluetooth Low Energy transmissions will be used in Matter network devices for connecting new smart home units onto the network when it launches in 2022 but will depend on WiFi and Thread network layers for internet connectivity.

It’s a hotly anticipated launch across the Internet of Things ecosystem not least because its over-the-air nature could enable more than 320 million smart speakers to be updated.

Bluetooth 5 improves on the low energy transmitter that was an optional mode in its predecessor, while 802.15.4 aims to replace cables between lightweight devices.

It comes after Infineon announced software support for the Matter standard in October.

As well as limiting battery life usage in Matter connected devices, Infineon says the new modules should help each device’s smart home connection from dropping out.

The modules are also expected to improve device range and prevent crowding when multiple Bluetooth units share proximate frequencies.