In today’s Coredump Session, we unpack the full story of Bluetooth—from its PDA-era beginnings to its rising role in cloud-connected devices. With insights from Memfault’s Chris Coleman and François Baldassari, along with Blecon’s Simon Ford, this wide-ranging conversation explores how Bluetooth Low Energy has evolved, where it thrives (and doesn’t), and why it’s often the right tool, even if it’s not a perfect one. Expect history, hot takes, and practical guidance for building better Bluetooth-powered products.
Key Takeaways:
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Bluetooth Classic are fundamentally different—and BLE was never just a “lite” version.
- BLE's strength lies in its low power consumption and quick connection setup, making it ideal for peripheral devices that sleep most of the time.
- Use cases like audio, asset tracking, and cloud sync continue to shape BLE’s evolution, and new specs like LE Audio and PAwR are expanding its reach.
- Bluetooth wins not because it’s perfect—but because it’s practical: globally adopted, low-cost, and well-supported.
- Debugging Bluetooth at scale requires collecting connection parameters, analyzing retries, and understanding phone ecosystem quirks.
- BLE Mesh adoption has been underwhelming, with real-world complexity often outweighing its theoretical benefits.
- Expect to see BLE turn up in more places, including MEMS sensors and energy-harvesting devices, not just consumer gadgets.
- Designers should understand trade-offs in connection intervals, latency, and power draw when choosing Bluetooth for cloud or local connectivity.
Chapters:
00:00 Episode Teasers & Intro
01:10 Meet the Guests: Bluetooth Roots at Pebble, Fitbit, and Blecon
06:51 BLE’s Breakthrough: The iPhone 4S Moment
10:22 BLE vs Classic: Why It Took Off
14:39 Specs That Shifted Everything: Packet Length, Coded PHY & LE Audio
21:41 Is BLE Still Interoperable? And Does It Matter?
28:22 The BLE Cloud Puzzle: Gateways, Phones & Golden Gate
38:40 BLE’s Sweet Spot: Power, Latency & When It Just Works
47:12 Operating BLE Devices in the Wild: What to Track & Why
57:40 Mesh Ambitions vs Reality
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