Does Bluetooth 5 implements BR/EDR natively?

Question

I can't find a proper answer on the Internet.

The Bluetooth Basic Rate / Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) appeared with the 2.0 Bluetooth Core Specification to improve data rate transfers. The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) appeared with the 4.0 Bluetooth Core Specification to improve consumption in the IoT field. Yet, to make those two modes work together (BLE & BR/EDR) you had to use a "Smart Ready" module (or dual-mode specific module).

Today, we have the Bluetooth 5. I don't quite understand if, when I browse Bluetooth 5 SoC on the market, the BR/EDR is implemented natively. For the BLE mode, it is. From a general FAQ :

Is the low energy feature of Bluetooth a part of Bluetooth 5.0?

Yes, Bluetooth with low energy functionality, introduced in Bluetooth 4.0, is a feature within Bluetooth Core Specification version 5.0. In fact, the new features and benefits of Bluetooth 5.0 are designed specifically for Bluetooth with low energy functionality.

But for the BR/EDR mode, the Bluetooth 5 Core Specification states (p323, Vol : 2 Core System Package [BR/EDR Controller Volume]) :

Two modulation modes are defined. A mandatory mode, called Basic Rate, uses a shaped [...]. An optional mode, called Enhanced Data Rate, uses PSK modulation [...].

So, from the Core Specification, the EDR mode is optional. Yet, I can't find any SoC or module (BT5 compliant) that has this EDR mode, like it doesn't exist anymore but everyone exhibit high data transfers (more than EDR used to be with previous version).

So, is the EDR implemented natively in BT5 (as the BLE is) even if the Core Specification states it as optional ? Where am I wrong ?

Thanks !

Answer 1

"Most" things in the Bluetooth Core specification are optional. You can have a BT5-compliant Bluetooth Classic chip that doesn't have any LE functionality and you can have a BT5-compliant BLE chip that doesn't have any Bluetooth classic features.

To check whether a particular Bluetooth chip supports a specific feature, just look it up at https://launchstudio.bluetooth.com/Listings/Search.