2012 Macbook Pro/Air with 802.11ac (gigabit wifi?)

[SuprUsrStan]

Gigabit wireless in the next macbook's? Apparently Apple Insider thinks so. At least if not the early 2012 macbooks, they claim it should come out later this year.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...adopt_80211ac_5g_gigabit_wifi_this_year_.html


"Apple is expected to rapidly deploy support for the new 802.11ac specification this year, adding so called "Gigibit WiFi" to new AirPort base stations, Time Capsule, Apple TV, notebooks and potentially its mobile devices.

The new 802.11ac standard achieves much faster wireless networking speeds than the existing 802.11n specification (in use on the latest Mac, AirPort and iOS devices) by using 2 to 4 times the frequency bandwidth (from 80 to 160MHz), more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple's Macs currently use up to 3).

While not yet finalized as an official standard by the 802.11 Working Group, progress on the new 802.11.ac standard is occurring faster than previous efforts in wireless networking have.

Multiple suppliers have already issued chipsets supporting 802.11ac for consumer grade applications. Key Apple component maker Broadcom announced chips supporting the standard earlier this month at CES.

In addition to reaching networking speeds above 1 Gigabit (about three times as fast as 802.11n networks can manage), 802.11ac promises better networking range, improved reliability, and more power efficient chips, thanks to parallel advances in reducing chip size and enhancing power management. "







According to wiki

"On January 20, 2011, the Initial Technical Specification Draft 0.1 was confirmed by IEEE 802.11 TGac. Standard finalization is anticipated in late 2012, with final 802.11 Working Group approval in late 2013."

"Quantenna released the world's first 802.11ac chipset for retail wi-fi routers and consumer electronics on November 15, 2011. Redpine Signals released the first low power 802.11ac technology for smartphone application processors on December 14, 2011. On January 5th, 2012, Broadcom announced its first 802.11ac Wi-Fi chips and partners."


Thoughts?

 

[BreakGuy]

Submit your Mac Rumors/Articles via the Front Page (MacRumors.com and click on where it says "Got a tip for us? Share it..."

 

[malman89]

It would be smart for them to hop on it as soon as possible, though it seems a bit early if it won't be finalized until 'late next year.' Who knows, though? Apple tends to do the major upgrades in the spring/summer and just slight bumps in the fall. I wonder if they stick to that schedule or not.

 

[charlieroberts]

Hey I have an idea, include it on the next macs and then 6 months later charge us a couple of bucks to unlock it!

Sounds good

 

[malman89]

Hey I have an idea, include it on the next macs and then 6 months later charge us a couple of bucks to unlock it!

Sounds good

I'm glad I just barely missed that with my model and didn't have to pay for it heh.

 

[borisiii]

It would be smart for them to hop on it as soon as possible, though it seems a bit early if it won't be finalized until 'late next year.' Who knows, though? Apple tends to do the major upgrades in the spring/summer and just slight bumps in the fall. I wonder if they stick to that schedule or not.

Computers with 802.11n support went on sale from about 2007, even though the standard was only finalised in 2009. Manufacturers sold them as 'draft-n' to cover their backs in case the final standard changed and rendered them incompatible.

 

[Laco]

This may be a silly question but would this affect internet speeds. I have a 50 Mbit/s internet connection at home while wireless N can transfer up to 600 Mbit/s (this may be incorrect). So would this new wireless standard improve my internet speed?

 

[SuprUsrStan]

Computers with 802.11n support went on sale from about 2007, even though the standard was only finalised in 2009. Manufacturers sold them as 'draft-n' to cover their backs in case the final standard changed and rendered them incompatible.

That is completely true, considering apple's hardware is quite "in house", the Time capsules and Airport base stations could all use the same type of standard regardless what the finalized version is. At worst, you'll know that it's a standard that is always recognized by apple's networking hardware.


@ Laco
If you have a 50 Mbit/s internet connection, Wireless N is sufficient for that connection. 50 Mbit/s translates to ~6.25 mb/s. I know my 2011 Time Capsule can sustain transfers with my 2011 MBP at 20-21 mb/s. However that's with the triple antenna's on the 2011 mbp's and the newest edition apple TC/ABS.

In terms of advertised performance, wireless N is rated for ~300 Mbit/s but with with a actual performance of around 200-250mbit/s.



Wireless 802.11AC, according to wikipedia see attached upload. Notice rather than dealing with 200 or 300 mbit/s, we're going to be in the gbit/s range. Essentially matching and going above gigabit networking via cat5e.

 

[hwojtek]

So would this new wireless standard improve my internet speed?

No. Why would it? Your internet connection is 3 times slower than your home wireless anyway. Why would a faster wireless make your internet connection faster?
BTW current 802.11n is 300mbps tops, not 600.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Why would a faster wireless make your internet connection faster?

Via lower latency?

802.11n is 300mbps tops, not 600.

With four antennas (each 150 MBit/s) 802.11n can transmit 600 MBit/s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n-2009#Data_rates

 

[SuprUsrStan]

With four antennas (each 150 MBit/s) 802.11n can transmit 600 MBit/s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n-2009#Data_rates

Most implementations of "600 Mbit/s" is actually a half duplex system; an allotment of 300 up and 300 down, rather than the "600" you are lead to believe.


Either way, only the newest 2011 macbook pro's got a slight upgrade to 3 antennas, a 3x3 mimo configuration, bringing up the maximum theoretical throughput to 450mbit/s.

 

[hwojtek]

Via lower latency?

The latency of the internet link, not the home wifi, is relevant in this case and that wouldn't change whatsoever.

 

[Freyqq]

This may be a silly question but would this affect internet speeds. I have a 50 Mbit/s internet connection at home while wireless N can transfer up to 600 Mbit/s (this may be incorrect). So would this new wireless standard improve my internet speed?

N can do 300 mb\s max for a standard setup at 5ghz. Assuming you get at least 50mb/s real-world speeds, anything faster than that would not increase your internet speed. AC seems to be aimed more at streaming high-quality video and large file transfers.