What is the Bluetooth chip ble, how to select it, and what is the path of subsequent technology development

• brief introduction

     bluetooth ble, Bluetooth has low power consumption （Bluetooth Low Energy, Or called Bluetooth LE、BLE, Old trademark Bluetooth Smart） Also known as Low power Bluetooth . Simply speaking , It's just a subset of Bluetooth Technology , It is the channel for data interaction , It is also the most important technical development path of Bluetooth Protocol , In the future, the development of Bluetooth technology will continue to revolve around ble Carry out deep excavation , For example, the foreseeable future ： Bluetooth broadcast audio 、 Bluetooth location 、 bluetooth mesh wait , It's all based on ble technology

ble Bluetooth chip module selection , Whether it's semi-finished products , Or do finished products , I think choosing a suitable plan , It's too important . The balance point of model selection is just right , Neither waste , Not enough . At the same time, I think we should try to choose some fully competitive large categories of chips , To do some niche applications , In fact, this method is the best . Because you can enjoy the maximum shipment volume and the price advantage brought by full competition , And complete supply chain services for chips

The maturity of Bluetooth chip technology , And more and more application scenarios , So there are various demands . What follows is when engineers choose the right product plan , Often confused , I don't know what kind of Bluetooth chip or module to choose to cooperate with product development .

 

 

• Classification of Bluetooth

here , Bluetooth version , Don't make too much explanation , Because you can easily search on the Internet , Here, I think Bluetooth can be classified into four categories ：

1、 Bluetooth audio chip scheme , Up to 2022 The classic Bluetooth technology used in , Be commonly called EDR

2、 bluetooth Data transmission programme ---BLE

3、 Bluetooth data transmission scheme , Bimodal BLE and SPP

4、 Bluetooth audio + Dual mode data transmission

Bluetooth classification	Application scenarios
Bluetooth audio chip	Bluetooth speakers [ Portable Bluetooth speakers ]、[ Desktop Bluetooth speaker ]、[ Square dance speaker ] Bluetooth headset [ Sports Bluetooth headset ]、[ Wear Bluetooth headset ] There are also those developed using this chip in the early stage SPP Transparent module , Such as HC-05, This kind is on the edge of elimination This classification mainly focuses on   Bluetooth speaker and Bluetooth headset
bluetooth BLE programme	Smart Bracelet Shared bike Bluetooth unlock Intelligent adult products 、 Smart lights The application of Bluetooth data transmission in industry Low cost options KT6368A
Bluetooth data transmission scheme , Bimodal BLE and SPP	vehicle OBD Data transmission Bluetooth printer Low cost options KT6368A
Bluetooth audio + Dual mode data	1、 This is the current flagship , Because of the huge shipment , So the cost of the chip is quickly reduced 2、 In general , This chip costs the lowest , Because the application scenarios are the most abundant 3、 The advantage is low cost , Flexible development , Support BLE and SPP, It also supports audio 4、 The disadvantages are obvious , Because it is compatible with audio , Therefore, the power consumption is too large , It is not suitable for making low-power products ,KT1025A chip

• Description of model selection in the development process

In fact, the development of Bluetooth chip , The most important thing is quantity , It's easy to say anything with quantity , If there is no quantity, it can be said to be trouble everywhere .

Bluetooth classification	Corresponding chip solution manufacturer
Bluetooth audio chip	There are too many chip manufacturers to choose from You can choose high-end ones “CSR”、“ Torchlight ”、“ ducky ” wait The middle end can be selected “RDA”、“ Jerry ”、“ Jianrong ”、“ broadcom ” The choice of this , Is based on their own product positioning , The cost is appropriate , Choose whoever has good service
bluetooth BLE programme	1、 If it is a low-power application scenario , standby 1mA The following kind (1)、 This application , Only choose “TI”、“Nordic”、“Dialog”, The high cost of 2、 If low power consumption is not required , Simply transmit data , There are options for this (1)、 Jerry 、 Jianrong 、 broadcom , They can all (2)、 Because chip shipments are large , So the cost is very advantageous (3)、 You can choose KT6368A chip
Bluetooth data transmission scheme , Bimodal BLE and SPP	At present, this market has only “ Yi Zhaowei ”、“ ducky ” Doing it , Medium cost This can also be done with Bluetooth audio chips , The cost will be lower , Performance is not discounted You can also choose KT6368A Bimodal SOP8 Package Bluetooth chip
Bluetooth audio + Dual mode data	What we can do is the world of domestic chips ,“ Jerry ”、“ Jianrong ”、“ Torchlight ” wait In fact, this series of chips are very advantageous , It's mainly about how developers develop , How the user conceives the requirements This market is actually similar to “ Bluetooth audio ” The market is merged , Enjoy a large number of chips , And full competition , Bring low cost 、 High performance . Very noteworthy
remarks ： If you are a data transmission application scenario that does not require low power consumption , I suggest eliminating directly “TI”、“Nordic”、“Dialog”, Because you will spend more than you deserve If you require ultra-low power consumption , Then you don't have a choice , Just those chips , Just choose a suitable one If you need audio tape data transmission , I suggest KT1025A chip ,3 The unit price is about yuan , It can be said that we can fully enjoy the price advantage of large quantity If you need dual-mode data transmission , That is to say BLE+SPP, You can choose KT6368A chip , Cost lower 1.85 If the power consumption requirement is not high , Monomode BLE You can also choose KT6368A chip , The average power consumption in low power state is 100uA about

• Summary of model selection

Model selection is a key link , Because the result of selection , It will affect the cost performance of the whole product , And the development cycle and so on , So here we do some systematic classification , Help engineers choose the most suitable scheme , I hope I can help you