Some of the world’s largest technology companies have developed Bluetooth AND Wi-Fi alternatives. Nearlink could be a game-changer with the backing of 300 mostly Chinese businesses.
The first products utilizing Nearlink, a revolutionary next-generation wireless protocol, are being introduced to the market, with Huawei at the forefront.
Huawei’s Mate 60, MatePad Pro 13.2, and Freebuds Pro are among the first devices to ship with the Nearlink standard, which Huawei promotes as a significantly speedier and more effective competitor to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
According to Huawei Central, Nearlink was announced at its HDC 2023 event in August and uses existing wireless technologies, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
What Nearlink means for mobile networks’ future
The advantages include 60% less power consumption, six times faster data transmission speeds, and nearly 10 times the number of device connections.
The standard is intended to eliminate latency (offering latency of 1/30th of a millisecond) while also providing significant bandwidth.
Not only is Huawei including Nearlink in its latest smartphones, but it is also spearheading a consortium of 300 tech companies – all Chinese except Mediatek and St Gobain – in developing the standard and incorporating it into their products.
This category covers a diverse spectrum of enterprises from industries such as automotive, AV, home appliances, and electronics, including Lenovo, Hisense, and Honor, among others.
There are no significant US names listed, such as Intel, Qualcomm, AMD, or Nvidia, raising the prospect that the technology will take off in China and leave the rest of the world behind.
However, there are alternatives, like as the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology being developed by Apple for its handsets, including the upcoming iPhone 15 series.
Despite the fact that the United States has blacklisted Huawei, the company remains a major player in the global technology market.
A wireless protocol established and developed only by Chinese corporations, lead by Huawei, may result in a parallel type of networking that is impossible to peep into, particularly when it comes to shaping how the standard evolves over time and what that means for users and businesses.
