Is Bluetooth 4.1 backward compatible? To consider

With Bluetooth, you have the ability to wirelessly connect compatible devices and exchange data with each other. Nearly 20 years ago, Bluetooth version 1.0 came onto the market. Since then, many points have changed. The Bluetooth version 4.1 also brings some innovations.

Is Bluetooth version 4.1 backward compatible?

Many years have passed since Bluetooth version 1.0 was released. Since then, some aspects of the transmission standard have changed. Version 4.1 of Bluetooth is fully compatible with the previous version 4.0. Moreover, you don't need a new chip, since the new firmware comes via an update. But there are more improvements compared to the 4.0 version.

1. Bluetooth uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band. This is the same band that LTE uses. To avoid interference between the two, version 4.1 uses a filter to try to avoid it. Bluetooth searches for a new channel in case of overlaps with the help of "Adaptive Frequency Hopping".
2. Dedicated channels for the Bluetooth connection also bring many advantages for multiple Bluetooth connections. Thus, less interference can occur when using the devices simultaneously.
3. In addition, the maximum time for automatic pairing has been extended from 30 seconds to three minutes.
4. The architecture has also been changed a bit. So arbeiten nun alle Geräte gleichzeitig als Hub und auch als Endpoint. Diese Änderung erlaubt den gleichzeitigen Austausch von Informationen.