Bluetooth 7 is here. What it means for Auracast, and what it doesn't

The Bluetooth SIG has adopted version 7.0 of the Bluetooth Core Specification. The document is dated 2 November 2026, and the SIG published its feature overview a day later. The headline feature is High Data Throughput, or HDT: a new radio mode that lifts Bluetooth LE's top speed from 2 Mbps to 7.5 Mbps.

Auracast runs on Bluetooth LE, so the obvious question is whether this changes anything for broadcasts. The short answer: not yet, but it opens a door.

What HDT is

Bluetooth LE has topped out at 2 Mbps since Bluetooth 5.0 in 2016. HDT adds a new physical layer that packs more bits into each radio symbol and adds error correction. It comes in five rates:

So a device can carry the "Bluetooth 7" label and support HDT while topping out at 4 Mbps. The headline 7.5 Mbps is optional. HDT is also optional as a whole: a Bluetooth 7.0 device does not have to support it at all. When you see "Bluetooth 7" on a box, look for HDT and its top rate, not just the version number.

The Auracast part

The SIG's feature overview says that once devices have set up HDT, it can be used for Broadcast Isochronous Streams. That is the stream type Auracast uses. The specification also adds new commands for creating broadcast groups with HDT settings.

That matters because today's LE Audio streams are limited by the 2 Mbps radio. In July the SIG said lossless or high-resolution streams were out of reach at current rates, and that it expects HDT earbuds, headphones and speakers to offer higher-resolution, lossless streaming "in the coming years". A broadcast with that kind of headroom could carry higher-quality music, or more language channels from one transmitter.

What it doesn't change

• Finding a broadcast stays the same. HDT is not used for advertising, so discovery stays on the existing radio. Scanning for a stream, the QR codes and the "Audio sharing" menus all work as they do now.
• Your current gear won't get it. HDT is a change from the radio up. Argenox, a Bluetooth design firm, describes it as needing new radio support and more processing power. So don't expect a firmware update to add it to a Bluetooth 5.x or 6.x product.
• Both ends need it. HDT only kicks in when both devices support it. Everything else carries on using the normal Bluetooth LE radio, so a Bluetooth 7 transmitter will still reach today's hearing aids and earbuds, at today's quality.
• There is no new codec yet. LC3 is still the LE Audio codec. The SIG has said high-resolution audio is being standardised alongside HDT, but nothing in Core 7.0 names a new codec.
• The other audio feature is not for broadcasts. Core 7.0 also adds Isochronous Parameter Update. It lets a one-to-one LE Audio stream change settings mid-stream, for example from music quality to low-latency voice, without dropping and reconnecting. It applies to connected streams between paired devices, not to Auracast broadcasts.

When will products appear?

Nobody has said. The SIG gives no product dates. Bluetooth 6.0 was adopted in September 2024, and the iPhone 17 shipped with it a year later. A similar gap would put the first Bluetooth 7 phones and earbuds in late 2027 at the earliest. We'll track the first products that list HDT in the product database.

The rest of Core 7.0 is security and developer plumbing: a new way to manage encryption keys, encrypted links without pairing, and tools that let engineers debug encrypted connections.

If you're new to how broadcasts work, start with how Auracast works.