News Ask Jerry: Why is Bluetooth still so bad?

[AC News]

Have a question about the tech in your life? If so, maybe we can get them answered!

Ask Jerry: Why is Bluetooth still so bad? : Read more

 

[Superguy25]

Hey Jerry,

Interesting article, but I have one question.

Why does BT suck so bad in cars? I've been using BT in cars probably since 2009, with multiple different cars and multiple brands of phones. I've never had that great of experience with the call quality, and my wife complains about it a lot.

Is it due to car manufactures poorly implementing BT and not updating it? Or is there mismatch in capabilities between the devices?

I'm curious as to what's actually going on, as I don't know that there's a ton of interference in my car or really around me with BT being short range.

Thanks!

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Yeah, car Bluetooth is its own nightmare. Everything still applies the same as it is for other accessories, but there are two other issues — car manufacturers seem to love building their own software front end and the dev cycle on car electronics is about 5 years, so the brand-new car you buy today is using tech developed in 2019.

Some companies do it better than others, but a lot of them are just bad. My wife's is one of them lol.

 

[gomezz]

My biggest beef is BT assuming each user only has one phone or other device and one speaker or earbuds to use them with. Being in a yard full of vans and other drivers' phones is not a happy experience!