MIDI 2.0
The MIDI 2.0 standard was unveiled on January 17, 2020, at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. Representatives Yamaha, ROLI, Microsoft, Google, and the MIDI Association introduced the update, which enables bidirectional communication while maintaining backward compatibility.
Research on the new MIDI protocol began in 2005. Prototype devices showcasing wired and wireless connections have been shown privately at NAMM. Licensing and product certification policies have been developed, although no projected release date was announced. Proposed physical layer and transport layer included Ethernet-based protocols such as RTP MIDI and Audio Video Bridging/Time-Sensitive Networking, as well as User Datagram Protocol (UDP)-based transport.
AMEI and MMA announced that complete specifications will be published following interoperability testing of prototype implementations from major manufacturers such as Google, Yamaha, Steinberg, Roland, Ableton, Native Instruments, and ROLI, among others. In January 2020, Roland announced the A-88mkII controller keyboard that supports MIDI 2.0. MIDI 2.0 includes MIDI Capability Inquiry specification for property exchange and profiles, and the new Universal MIDI Packet format for high-speed transports which supports both MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0 voice messages.
Some devices operating MIDI 1.0 can "retrofit" some 2.0 features. Since its release in early January 2020 by the MIDI Manufacturers Association, more details have yet to come out about the new update. As of 2021 there were five components to MIDI such as; M2-100-U v1.0 MIDI 2.0 Specification Overview, M2-101-UM v1.1 MIDI-CI Specification, M2-102-U v1.0 Common Rules for MIDI-CI Profiles, M2-103-UM v1.0 Common Rules for MIDI-CI PE and M2-104-UM v1.0 UMP and MIDI 2.0 Protocol Specification. Other specifications regarding MIDI 2.0 include; allowing the use of 32,000 controllers and wide range note enhancements. These enhancements are made better through the property exchange. In June 2023 updated and new MIDI 2.0 specifications were released consisting of M2-100-U MIDI 2.0 Specification Overview, Version 1.1, M2-101-UM MIDI Capability Inquiry (MIDI-CI), Version 1.2, M2-102-U Common Rules for MIDI-CI Profiles, Version 1.1, M2-104-UM Universal MIDI Packet (UMP) Format and MIDI 2.0 Protocol, Version 1.1, and M2-116-U MIDI Clip File (SMF2), Version 1.0.