Bluetooth 6.2 – more responsive, improves security, USB comms, and testing

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Bluetooth audio & mic quality

  • Major recurring complaint: when a headset mic is enabled, audio degrades from acceptable stereo to “telephone‑grade” due to switching from A2DP to HFP/HSP, splitting limited bandwidth for duplex audio.
  • Users report:
    • Non‑Apple headsets often sound unusably bad on calls.
    • AirPods subjectively degrade less because of better codecs and platform integration, though some say their mic is still poor for listeners.
    • In‑ear “earpod” mics are inherently disadvantaged by placement and size, but many argue the primary issue is codec/bitrate, not hardware.
  • Workarounds:
    • Use laptop/desktop or external USB/desk/clip mics while keeping Bluetooth only for playback.
    • Prefer 2.4 GHz “gaming” headsets or wired options for better latency and duplex quality.
    • On desktops, forcing codecs (e.g., mSBC on Linux) can help but is fragile.

LE Audio, GMAP, and current support

  • LE Audio (LC3, isochronous channels) is seen as the intended fix for:
    • Bad mic quality on headsets.
    • High latency.
    • The “10 kbps when mic is on” problem.
  • In practice, support is scarce and messy:
    • Requires BLE 5.2+ with isochronous audio on both host and headset; many chipsets and OS stacks don’t support or expose it reliably.
    • GMAP (Gaming Audio Profile) specifically targets high‑quality duplex audio, but hardware that actually implements it is rare and often unstable, especially on Windows and Linux.
    • Users report broken or degraded features when enabling LE Audio (lost multipoint, missing battery info, assistant integration issues, app incompatibility).
  • Some point to proprietary stacks/codecs (Qualcomm, Apple) as incentives not to fix these gaps quickly in the open standard.

Pairing UX and out‑of‑band ideas

  • Opinions split: some say pairing “isn’t bad anymore,” others still find it unreliable or device‑specific.
  • Good experiences: devices with explicit pairing buttons, or automatic USB pairing (game controllers, Apple peripherals).
  • Bad experiences: “fast/quick pair” implementations, random entry into pairing mode, auto‑connecting or auto‑playing when merely powered on.
  • Several commenters want a standard, secure USB or NFC “out‑of‑band” pairing flow; the spec allows OOB pairing, but actual implementations are proprietary and fragmented.

Specification size, ecosystem, and security

  • The 6.2 core spec’s ~3,800 pages are seen as part of a long‑running trend of ballooning wireless and platform specs; many argue most devices still only implement a slice.
  • Some view the complexity and cruft as a barrier for newcomers and a pain for developers, though others say hardware cost and certification matter more.
  • There’s frustration that, despite the huge spec, basic needs like robust high‑quality duplex audio remain poorly addressed in shipping products.
  • Open‑source stacks (e.g., BlueZ) support up to 5.4, but lack developers and lag hardware certification; Linux users especially report pain around modern audio features.
  • Security perceptions are mixed: the core standard isn’t viewed as awful, but real‑world implementations can be exploitable (e.g., DoS attacks on TVs, recent eavesdropping vulnerabilities).