Right now Bluetooth 4.0 low energy (LE) is sorely lacking from most Windows Phone 8 devices, but that won't be the case for long if Nokia has any say in it.
The Finnish company has already added Bluetooth 4.0 LE support to the Nokia Lumia 520, 620, 625 and 720 with the recent 'Amber' update, but it now plans to extend that support to all Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices.
That new support will be added with the 'Black' update and should include tablets as well as phones, though as yet it's not known when the update will land.
Lower energy, longer lasting
Once it does, Lumia devices will be able to make low energy Bluetooth connections with other devices, using a lot less battery power than a standard Bluetooth connection would. While it could be useful for any number of things, Bluetooth LE is currently widely used with fitness accessories such as heart rate monitors.
The black update is also set to add new Glance (Nokia's always-on screen tech) screen color choices, along with extra Glance screen options, such as a pedometer and notifications. It also adds RAW camera support to the Nokia Lumia 1020 and 1520 and new camera algorithms.
There's bad news for anyone still rocking a Windows Phone 7 Lumia device though, as this generation has been left out in the cold yet again.
- The Nokia Lumia 1020 is one of many devices that could benefit from this update.