Apple announced new Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro models this week, adding faster and more efficient M4 chips, as well as updates like Thunderbolt 5 and nanotexture display options for some models. . One of the upgrades we were hoping for was support for the latest Wi-Fi specifications, but the Wi-Fi 7 upgrade was not applied to the new machine.
All new M4 Macs continue to offer Wi-Fi 6E, allowing access to the 6GHz band with supported Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 routers, but this is not the latest and greatest technology .
All iPhone 16 models released in September are equipped with Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 7 chip, so it’s surprising that Apple opted out of updating new machines with Wi-Fi 7. iPhone supports the 802.11be Wi-Fi 7 standard with 2×2 MIMO, but the iPhone 16 model comes with a caveat that makes it a little easier if Wi-Fi 7 isn’t available on your Mac. .
Apple’s Wi-Fi specifications page confirms that the Wi-Fi 7 chip in the iPhone 16 model has a maximum physical layer data rate of 2400Mb/s and a maximum channel bandwidth of 160MHz, which is Same performance as Fi 6E chip. On iPhone 15 Pro models and M3 Mac models with Wi-Fi 6E on a 6GHz network (Apple’s chart is M4, but the Wi-Fi 6E chip probably hasn’t changed).
Wi-Fi 7 in iPhone 16 models offers increased maximum data rates when connected to the 5GHz band compared to the Wi-Fi 6E chip used in Macs and iPads, but Apple has does not support the entire 320MHz bandwidth. Wi-Fi 7 offers up to 320 MHz of bandwidth to accommodate more devices, but Apple limits the bandwidth to 160 MHz, so iPhone 16 models can use Wi-Fi 7 chip, it doesn’t take full advantage of Wi-Fi 7. While this limitation was disappointing, iPhone 16 models support Multi-Link Operation (MLO) for connecting to multiple bands simultaneously, resulting in faster data transmission and lower latency on supported networks. Realize.
Apple certainly could have opted for the Wi-Fi 7 chip without restrictions in its M4 Mac models, especially the more expensive M4 Pro and M4 Max machines, but that didn’t happen. Given that people often keep their Macs for several years, it’s strange that Apple chose not to offer such future-proofing features in its Mac product line. I think MLO would have been useful for gaming applications, streaming, and video conferencing, especially as people upgrade their networks over the next few years.
Customers planning to purchase new M4 Macs should know that these machines will continue to offer Wi-Fi 6E functionality and won’t have the faster speeds or latency benefits that come with Wi-Fi 7.
