I think the problem, in the specific audio area, is the technology itself rather than accessibility.
The Bluetooth standard is trash; no stack/device [combination] just works as it's supposed to do.
If BT worked, I think accessibility would pose no problem; ultimately, the intended workflow is: 1. turn on BT on the host device (if required); 2. turn on the client device; 3. listen to music.
As the BT committees and implementers keep pushing features rather than taking care of the stability, for a stable BT to ever happen, it would require all of them to be exiled and replaced by a new generation; I don't think this will ever happen.
Generally quite well. Pairing means your devices know to look for eachother, and the bitrate of music streaming over Bluetooth combined with the low range means you'll need some unrealistic congestion before things really start to fail.
On the one hand, that suggests either shitty Bluetooth devices you're using, or some pretty unusual density of Bluetooth users in the crowd.
On the other hand, this is what mass adoption of wireless headphones will lead to, and it shows how ridiculously bad this is compared to the tried-and-true wire.
I've never run into Bluetooth congestion problems on public transit or busy streets. BT has a lot of problems, this really isn't one of them.
There are some BT devices that have poor antenna designs and underpowered transcievers, where the proximity of other humans — or even your own body — can significantly attenuate the signal. But this isn't a problem with the spec itself, and there's plenty of devices that have shown it's possible to do it right.
BT runs into congestion issues quite often in my experience. I’ve experienced connectivity issues in areas where there are a lot of wireless networks.
Considering that WiFi and Bluetooth both run at near 2.4GHz - I’d assume that areas with a lot of wireless networks could (and have in my experience) interfere with BT.
This wasn’t limited to 1 set of devices though. Tried it with my AirPods and a pair of NC Sennheiser headphones. Both cause issues when walking into busy (in terms of WiFi) areas.
BT is on the same 2.4 GHz band that most Wifis use, and I can tell you from personal experience that there can be interference. Given how ubiquitous Wifi is, the available bandwidth for BT devices will most definitely not be able to serve the theoretical maximum of users in any given space.
I hit BT congestion every day. I don't care about theoretical maximum users. When I get into various parts of the city centre BT is worthless. I've switched back to cable.
The Bluetooth standard is trash; no stack/device [combination] just works as it's supposed to do.
If BT worked, I think accessibility would pose no problem; ultimately, the intended workflow is: 1. turn on BT on the host device (if required); 2. turn on the client device; 3. listen to music.
As the BT committees and implementers keep pushing features rather than taking care of the stability, for a stable BT to ever happen, it would require all of them to be exiled and replaced by a new generation; I don't think this will ever happen.