In 1989, Nils Rydbeck, CTO at Ericsson Mobile in Lund, Sweden, initiated the development of short-link radio technology, later known as Bluetooth, with the goal of creating wireless headsets.

Bluetooth technology was invented in July 1994, allowing for wireless communication between devices over short distances.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was formed in 1996, consisting of industry leaders from major tech companies. It oversees updates and features to newer versions of Bluetooth.

In May 1998, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was launched with IBM and Ericsson as the founding signatories, along with Intel, Nokia, Toshiba, and IBM as members. This marked the official establishment of Bluetooth as an open industry standard.

In the mid 1990’s, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba formalized the creation of a wire replacement for communicating voice and data between devices. To ensure the standardization and interoperability of this short-range radio technology, the founding companies formed the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) on 20 May 1998.

The first commercial Bluetooth product was introduced in 1999, a year after the establishment of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. This product marked the initial entry of Bluetooth technology into the consumer market.

In 2000, the first PC card and first mobile phone with Bluetooth® technology were introduced to the market, marking the beginning of a wireless era in technology.

In October 2001, IBM introduced the IBM ThinkPad A30, the first notebook to have integrated Bluetooth capabilities.

In 2002, several Bluetooth firsts were introduced including the first GPS receiver, the first keyboard and mouse combination package, and the first Bluetooth digital camera. The number of Bluetooth qualified products on the market reached 500, marking a significant milestone.

In 2003, Bluetooth made its way into the medical market with the introduction of its first FDA-approved medical device. The market saw rapid growth with weekly shipments exceeding 1 million products, showcasing the versatility of Bluetooth technology.

In August 2004, an experiment demonstrated that the range of Class 2 Bluetooth radios could be extended to 1.78 km using directional antennas and signal amplifiers, raising concerns about potential security threats from long-distance attacks.

In April 2005, Cambridge University security researchers revealed vulnerabilities in the PIN-based pairing of commercial Bluetooth devices, leading to the development of stronger asymmetric key establishment methods.

In June 2005, Yaniv Shaked and Avishai Wool published a paper detailing passive and active methods for obtaining the PIN for a Bluetooth link, highlighting weaknesses in the pairing process.

In August 2005, police in Cambridgeshire, England, warned about thieves using Bluetooth enabled phones to track devices left in cars, advising users to deactivate mobile networking connections when leaving devices unattended.

In April 2006, researchers from Secure Network and F-Secure published a report highlighting the risks associated with leaving Bluetooth devices in a visible state. They also provided statistics on the spread of Bluetooth services and the potential ease of a Bluetooth worm spreading.

In October 2006, Kevin Finistere and Thierry Zoller showcased a remote root shell exploit via Bluetooth on Mac OS X v10.3.9 and v10.4 at the Hack.lu Security Conference. They also presented the first Bluetooth PIN and Linkkeys cracker based on previous research.

Bluetooth Core Specification version 2.1 + EDR, adopted in 2007, introduced secure simple pairing (SSP) for improved pairing experience and increased security strength. It also included features like extended inquiry response (EIR) and sniff subrating.

In September 2008, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a guide focusing on Bluetooth security, providing recommendations and guidelines for securing Bluetooth technologies.

On 16 March 2009, the WiMedia Alliance announced it was disbanding and transferring all current and future specifications, including work on future high-speed and power-optimized implementations, to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Wireless USB Promoter Group, and the USB Implementers Forum.

Bluetooth SIG adopted Version 3.0 + HS of the Bluetooth Core Specification on 21 April 2009. This version introduced theoretical data transfer speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s, with high-speed data transfer carried over a colocated 802.11 link.

The Bluetooth SIG finalized the Bluetooth Core Specification version 4.0, also known as Bluetooth Smart, which includes Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth high speed, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocols.

Semiconductor companies like Qualcomm Atheros, CSR, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments announced the availability of chips meeting the Bluetooth Low Energy standard in March 2011.

In 2012, Jaap Haartsen was nominated by the European Patent Office for the European Inventor Award for his contributions to Bluetooth technology.

The Bluetooth SIG officially adopted the Bluetooth v4.1 specification on December 4, 2013. This update was a software enhancement to the existing Bluetooth v4.0, bringing new features to improve user experience and support for multiple roles simultaneously.

A netgraph-based Bluetooth implementation from FreeBSD may have been enabled in the tree starting from 2014-11-15.

Bluetooth 4.2 was released on December 2, 2014, focusing on features for the Internet of Things. It introduced enhancements such as Low Energy Secure Connection, Link Layer Privacy, and Internet Protocol Support Profile.

The Smart Mesh Working Group was established, hinting at significant developments in home networking technology.

Bluetooth SIG introduced Bluetooth 5 on December 6, 2016, focusing on new Internet of Things technology.

Sony announced Bluetooth 5.0 support with its Xperia XZ Premium in February 2017 during the Mobile World Congress.

In April 2017, security researchers at Armis uncovered multiple exploits in Bluetooth software across different platforms, leading to the discovery of BlueBorne vulnerabilities. These exploits allowed attackers to gain control over devices without authentication.

In September 2017, iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X were launched with Bluetooth 5 support.

Apple integrated Bluetooth 5 in its new HomePod offering released on February 9, 2018.

Bluetooth SIG presented Bluetooth 5.1 on January 21, 2019, focusing on features like Angle of Arrival and Angle of Departure for locating and tracking devices.

In August 2019, security researchers at various institutions found a vulnerability in Bluetooth key negotiation, named KNOB. This vulnerability could allow attackers to decrypt encrypted messages and inject valid messages in real-time.

On December 31, 2019, the Bluetooth SIG released the Bluetooth Core Specification Version 5.2, introducing new features such as Enhanced Attribute Protocol (EATT), LE Power Control, LE Isochronous Channels, and LE Audio.

In 2020, Bluetooth SIG announced the LC3 codec and LE Audio protocol bundled into Bluetooth 5.2, aiming to enhance audio quality. This update has implications for hearing aids, broadcast audio, and HD voice calling.

The Bluetooth SIG published the Bluetooth Core Specification Version 5.3 on July 13, 2021, introducing enhancements like Connection Subrating, Periodic Advertisement Interval, Channel Classification Enhancement, and Encryption key size control.

On July 12, 2022, the Bluetooth SIG announced the finalization of the Bluetooth LE Audio standard, which offers lower latency and improved features like Auracast, LC3 codec, and support for hearing aids.

The Bluetooth SIG released the Bluetooth Core Specification Version 5.4 on 7 February 2023. This new version introduces features like Periodic Advertising with Responses, Encrypted Advertising Data, LE GATT Security Levels Characteristic, and Advertising Coding Selection.

Bluetooth 5.4 was launched on March 8, 2023, enhancing features such as battery power, range, security, and connectivity to better combat outside interference.

By 2025, Bluetooth technology is expected to be integrated into more than 6 billion devices annually, as projected by the 2021 Bluetooth Market Update from the Bluetooth SIG.