Bluetooth 6.0 is the 2024 core specification release headlined by Channel Sounding, a distance-awareness feature, alongside advertising and link-layer refinements, and it changes no audio codec. The core line has since moved to 6.1 (adopted April 2025) and 6.2 (adopted November 2025), and current flagships quote 6.0-class radios in their spec sheets.
Figures on this page were checked September 2026. Every table row carries its source and access date.
Version facts
| Item | Value | Source / as of |
|---|---|---|
| Specification status | Adopted, Core Specification 6.0 | Bluetooth SIG spec page, 2026-09-25 |
| Adoption date | 2024-08-30, per the specification page metadata | Bluetooth SIG spec page, 2026-09-25 |
| Headline feature | Channel Sounding, true distance awareness between two devices | Bluetooth SIG spec page and document, 2026-09-25 |
| Audio codec change | None; Classic and LE audio paths unchanged | Core Specification 6.0 feature list, 2026-09-25 |
| Current core line | 6.1 adopted 2025-04-04, 6.2 adopted 2025-11-04 | Bluetooth SIG spec pages, 2026-09-25 |
| Devices on this site | Xiaomi 15 (Bluetooth 6.0), Pixel 10 (v6), iPhone 17 (Bluetooth 6) | This site's device records, 2026-09-25 |
What 6.0 introduced
The specification document's own list of the 6.0 feature areas is the honest checklist: Decision-Based Advertising Filtering, Channel Sounding, Enhancements for ISOAL, the LL Extended Feature Set, Monitoring Advertisers and the Frame Space Update. Each one refines how Bluetooth devices discover, measure and pace their low-energy communication. Channel Sounding gets the headlines because it adds a capability rather than a tuning: two devices measure round-trip time between them to know the true distance, which find-my tags, digital keys and proximity unlocks have wanted for years.
The rest of the list is efficiency. Decision-based advertising filtering lets devices skip advertising channels uselessly scanned, monitoring advertisers addresses how often a device needs to wake to track a peer, the ISOAL enhancements touch how Isochronous Adaptation Layer traffic is paced, the LL extended feature set formalizes feature negotiation, and the frame space update tightens a timing parameter. None of the six touches the audio codec paths, which is the fact most audio buyers need.
What it means for audio
Nothing changes for sound. The audio negotiation on a Bluetooth 6.0 phone or headphone works exactly as on a 5.x radio: Classic A2DP codecs such as SBC, AAC, aptX and LDAC where the vendor enables them, and LE Audio where the product line carries it. A "Bluetooth 6" line in a spec sheet is a radio and feature statement, not a sound-quality statement, and the codec row on the same spec sheet remains the place to read what audio the device supports. That is the same discipline our iPhone LDAC profile and Xiaomi codec page apply to individual devices, and the 5.4 version page carries the equivalent record for the end of the 5.x line.
FAQ
No codec changed. The 6.0 feature set is about distance awareness and link-layer efficiency, Channel Sounding, decision-based advertising filtering, monitoring advertisers, ISOAL enhancements, the LL extended feature set and the frame space update, none of which alters the Classic or LE audio paths. Headphone audio on a 6.0 device negotiates codecs exactly as before.
A distance-awareness feature introduced in Core 6.0: two Bluetooth devices measure the true distance between them using round-trip timing and phase-based ranging rather than signal strength estimates. It targets find-my devices, digital keys and geofenced access, not audio, and it requires both devices to support it.
Yes, among current flagships: the Xiaomi 15 lists Bluetooth 6.0, the Pixel 10 lists Bluetooth v6 and the iPhone 17 lists Bluetooth 6 on its spec sheet. Support beyond flagships is still rolling through the market, and a 6.0 radio does not change which audio codecs a phone supports.
The 6.x line continued: Core 6.1 was adopted in April 2025 and Core 6.2 in November 2025, both listed as Adopted on the Bluetooth SIG specification pages. Version pages on this site carry the 5.x line for comparison.
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- Bluetooth SIG, Core Specification 6.0 page: status Adopted, adoption date 2024-08-30 in page metadata; bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/core-specification-6-0/, accessed 2026-09-25
- Bluetooth SIG, Core Specification 6.0 document (PDF): acknowledgments for v6.0 list the feature areas verbatim as Decision-Based Advertising Filtering, Channel Sounding, Enhancements for ISOAL, LL Extended Feature Set, Monitoring Advertisers and Frame Space Update; bluetooth.org DocMan download, accessed 2026-09-25
- Bluetooth SIG, Core Specification 6.1 page: status Adopted, adoption date 2025-04-04; bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/core-specification-6-1/, accessed 2026-09-25
- Bluetooth SIG, Core Specification 6.2 page: status Adopted, adoption date 2025-11-04; bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/core-specification-6-2/, accessed 2026-09-25
- Device records carried on this site: Xiaomi 15 (Bluetooth 6.0), Pixel 10 (Bluetooth v6) and iPhone 17 (Bluetooth 6) per the device spec pages verified on the version and device pages, accessed 2026-09-25