Which generation mobile phone will be able to get all the benefits of BLE5 for the nRF52832?

[jakeh]

From what I understand, the nRF52832 supports the following BLE5 features:

• -2 Mbps
• -CSA#2
• -Advertising extensions

The chip does not support the 'Long Range' feature. I am looking to use the chip in a pretty high-noise environment that connects over Bluetooth to an Android phone for streaming sensor data. I'm having a hard time deciphering which of the BLE features I need to ensure my phone will give me the best connection and range, keeping in mind the limitations of the nRF52832. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[ovrebekk]

Hi 

The nRF52832 has hardware support for 2 Mbps, CSA #2 and advertising extensions, that is correct. The latest S132 SoftDevice versions also support these features, with the exception of some advertising extension features (such as periodic advertising), which are not implemented. 

Long range (coded phy) is not supported. 

The long range feature is also only supported on a limited number of phones, so you can't really rely on this to be available on the phone side. 

Maximizing range when connecting to phones is always a bit of a challenge, as different phones will have differing RF performance. I would recommend using the maximum TX power available (+4dBm on the nRF52832), and trying to negotiate a relatively short connection interval, such as 15ms, to strengthen the link when there is a lot of packet loss. 

Best regards
Torbjørn