Cardo, UClear, and Midland to offer universal Bluetooth connection

Notably absent from the partnership is industry giant Sena. We asked Sena for comment and the company issued a statement saying it has studied the compatibility issue and even had talks with competitors, but chose a different route in the end. “Sena ultimately arrived at the conclusion that true cross-platform compatibility would likely always require compromise, resulting in sacrifices in performance and reductions in audio quality, intercom reliability and operating distance, to name a few,” the statement said.

OBI probably won’t revolutionize the industry, especially without Sena, but the interface is a major step towards solving one of the biggest problems with existing Bluetooth communication systems — low-quality connections, complex pairing procedures, missing features, and so on. Seamless pairing across devices promotes consumer choice and opens the door to better group riding experiences. The partnership states that paired devices will retain “strong connectivity and the ability to use all the features from the various brands,” like talking over intercom, making phone calls, and listening to music. OBI will be available on current and future models from the partner companies. Common Tread reached out to Cardo about backwards compatibility, and Cardo's statement said that OBI can't be added to older models with a firmware update.

“Our ‘Open Bluetooth Intercom’ further cements our commitment to providing motorcyclists with the best solutions to communicate while riding,” explained Shachar Harari, VP of Business Development at Cardo. “The new partnership will enable riders to fully enjoy seamless Bluetooth intercom connectivity across the [partnered] brands and will further foster the penetration of communication solutions among riders worldwide.”

Most importantly, OBI means that “riders no longer have to agree with fellow riding partners on a brand to buy” among the partnered manufacturers. Bluetooth communicators from Sena, Lexin, and other brands may still have the usual issues linking with units over universal connections. The Common Tread staff uses a variety of Bluetooth communicators, and we can’t wait to try OBI for ourselves.