Upcoming Motorola Signature 27 Is First With Bluetooth 7: Here’s What You Get
The Motorola Signature 27 will soon be available in stores and is the first phone to feature Bluetooth 7, a new version that makes the energy-efficient variant of Bluetooth nearly four times faster. It should enable wireless music streaming without loss of quality. However, achieving this requires more than just this phone.
What is Bluetooth 7?
Bluetooth 7 is the latest version of the wireless standard that lets your phone connect to earbuds, smartwatches, and speakers. The Bluetooth SIG, the organization behind the standard, finalized the specification on November 4. The Motorola Signature 27 was already announced in September, making it a remarkably early adopter: the standard has only just been finalized.
The most important innovation is called High Data Throughput, or HDT for short. This technology increases the maximum speed of Bluetooth Low Energy (the energy-efficient variant used by virtually all modern accessories) from 2 to 7.5 Mbit/s. Everything remains on the familiar 2.4 GHz band.
Benefits
Faster speeds may sound abstract, but they solve a long-standing problem. Until now, Bluetooth lacked the bandwidth to transmit music without loss of quality. That’s why the audio is heavily compressed on its way to your earbuds. With HDT, that changes:
- Lossless audio: CD-quality music requires over 1.4 Mbit/s and can now be transmitted wirelessly without any loss of quality
- Spatial audio: there’s enough bandwidth for multiple channels simultaneously, such as with surround and spatial audio
- Faster updates: new software for your earbuds or smartwatch transfers much faster
This also makes lossless audio part of the standard itself. Currently, high-quality audio over Bluetooth depends on codecs from individual companies, such as aptX and LDAC. These only work if your phone and earbuds happen to support the same ones. For the Signature 27, the first Motorola device with “Audio by B&O,” Bluetooth 7 is therefore a logical addition.
The caveat: “Bluetooth 7” doesn’t tell the whole story
Now for the not-so-good news. HDT is an optional feature of Bluetooth 7. This means a manufacturer can list “Bluetooth 7” in the specs without actually supporting the higher data rate. It’s not yet clear whether the Signature 27 actually has HDT on board.
Additionally, both ends of the connection must support it. You’ll need earbuds or headphones with both Bluetooth 7 and HDT, and those aren’t available yet. The Bluetooth SIG doesn’t expect the standard for high-quality audio based on HDT until 2027. Until then, the Signature 27 will behave just like any other phone when used with your current earbuds. Bluetooth 7 works fine with older versions, but it won’t make your music sound any better.
Wi-Fi 8 is also on the list
Bluetooth 7 isn’t the only first. Motorola also calls the Signature 27 “Wi-Fi 8 compatible,” and it’s an early adopter in that regard as well. Note the wording: the Wi-Fi 8 standard hasn’t been finalized yet, so this isn’t a firm promise.
Wi-Fi 8 is also less about higher peak speeds and more about a more stable connection, for example, when you’re walking around the house or sitting far from the router. Otherwise, it’s the same story as with Bluetooth 7: you won’t notice any difference unless you have a router that supports Wi-Fi 8—and virtually no one has one at home yet. The same goes for the 5G band n94, which the Signature 27 is also the first to support: it improves indoor coverage, but only if a carrier starts using it.
Reason to buy the Signature 27?
The Motorola Signature 27 costs €1,399.99. At that price, Bluetooth 7 and Wi-Fi 8 aren’t a reason to buy it today. At best, they’re a reassurance for the future—provided Motorola has fully integrated them. Motorola promises seven years of updates, so there’s a good chance that during that time you’ll buy earbuds and a router that do make use of them. Anyone who keeps their phone that long would prefer the new standards over the old ones.
The rest of the Signature 27 carries at least as much weight in the decision: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, a 200MP telephoto camera, and a woven back panel instead of glass. You can see what it looks like in real life in our video featuring a first look at the Signature 27. You can read what Motorola said in the announcement in our previous post.
