Bluetooth stays backward compatible across versions. A Bluetooth 6.0 device can talk to a 5.4 device and will fall back to the features supported by the older side.

The practical differences between 5.4 and 6.0 are:

• 5.4 concentrates on large fleets of simple, low-power nodes with PAwR and encrypted advertising.
• 6.0 adds Channel Sounding, smarter advertising filtering, and better time-sensitive handling, which only work when both sides support Bluetooth 6.0.

So, there is no “compatibility break” between the two. You only get the new 6.0 features when both devices speak 6.0. (1)

Summarised for Bluetooth 6.0:

• More accurate distance via Channel Sounding (phase-based ranging and round-trip timing, down to about 10 cm in favourable conditions).
• More efficient scanning through Decision-Based Advertising Filtering and Monitoring Advertisers, which cuts wasted listening in dense networks.
• Better low-latency data thanks to ISOAL enhancements and negotiable frame spacing.

For IoT and RTLS, we see 6.0 mainly as a step toward more precise, energy-efficient tracking rather than a simple speed upgrade. (2)

In general, no, not fully. Bluetooth 6.0 changes the low-level controller and PHY behaviour, so most devices require new hardware to support the full feature set. A firmware update alone is not enough in most cases. (2)

For Lansitec specifically:

• Our current Bluetooth gateways and tags are buil t around Bluetooth 5.0 BLE. Examples are the LoRaWAN Indoor Bluetooth Gateway , Solar Bluetooth Gateway , NB-IoT & LTE-M Compact Gateway , Macro Bluetooth Gateway , and cattle tags that all specify Bluetooth 5.0.
• Firmware updates can add improvements on top of 5.0, such as new filtering logic, payload formats, or reporting strategies, and we already use that to optimize battery life and capacity.
• Those devices will remain compatible with smartphones, tablets, and infrastructure that move to Bluetooth 6.0, but links will operate with Bluetooth 5.x feature sets, not 6.0 Channel Sounding or new controller events. (1)

So, if you want to use Bluetooth 6.0 features like Channel Sounding end-to-end, you will need a new generation of hardware on both sides. Your existing Lansitec BLE 5.0 fleet stays usable and future-friendly; it just will not retroactively become a Bluetooth 6.0 device through software alone.

Bluetooth 6.0 is the latest major version of the Bluetooth Core Specification introduced in 2024. It focuses on three big areas: much more precise distance measurement, smarter and more efficient scanning, and lower latency for streaming and other time-sensitive data. The core spec is defined and maintained by the Bluetooth SIG and the official feature overview groups the new functions under Channel Sounding, Decision Based Advertising Filtering, Monitoring Advertisers, ISOAL enhancements, an extended link layer feature set, and a flexible frame interval. (1) 

The headline feature is Bluetooth Channel Sounding, which lets two devices measure distance with centimeter-level accuracy for things like digital keys, asset tracking or “find my” style networks. Bluetooth 6.0 also adds Decision Based Advertising Filtering and Monitoring Advertisers, which let devices be pickier about which advertising packets they care about so they can scan less and still react quickly when a device moves in or out of range. On top of that, an enhanced ISOAL (Isochronous Adaptation Layer) and a configurable inter-frame spacing improve latency and reliability for isochronous traffic such as LE Audio and other continuous data streams. (1) 

Battery improvements come mostly from doing less pointless radio work. With Decision Based Advertising Filtering, a scanner can look at the first packet on a primary advertising channel and decide whether it is worth listening for follow-up packets, instead of always chasing every secondary packet. Monitoring Advertisers also helps the host know when a device has really gone out of range so it avoids long high duty-cycle scans for something that is no longer there. Consumer-facing overviews point out that this smarter filtering means radios are not “always scanning” and that this increased efficiency should extend battery life for both phones and accessories that support Bluetooth 6.0. (1) 

Bluetooth 6.1 is a smaller “point” update that mainly introduces Randomized Resolvable Private Address (RPA) Updates. Instead of changing a device’s private address on a fixed timer, the controller now picks a random time within a configured range and can autonomously rotate the address. This makes long-term tracking significantly harder and also reduces wakeups on the host processor, since address management moves into the controller, which saves additional energy. In practice, you can think of 6.0 as the big feature release and 6.1 as the privacy and power-tuning layer on top. (2)
 

Indeed Bluetooth 6.x gadgets are built to maintain compatibility with Bluetooth versions meaning a 6.0 headset can still connect with a 5.x phone though it won’t utilize the new capabilities unless both devices support them. The specification has already been approved by the Bluetooth SIG. Actual implementation relies on chipset manufacturers and operating system updates. This explains why currently only a limited number of phones, watches and audio devices promote 6.0 compatibility with 6.1 trailing, behind. The Bluetooth ecosystem also now encourages manufacturers to market features instead of version numbers, so you are more likely to see phrases like “supports Channel Sounding” or “enhanced privacy with randomized addresses” than “Bluetooth 6.1” in product copy, even if the device is actually built on that core spec.