New iPad Pro Supports Wi-Fi 6, New MacBook Air Still Has 720p Webcam, and Other Tidbits

[HandITOVER]

SMH.

 

[cgsnipinva]

I think the macbook air is a great alternative to the iPad - it gives you the power of a MacOS and an extension to your main Mac but is very portable.

I am not overly concerned by WIFI 5 vs 6. Its a portable mobile platform.

 

[neuropsychguy]

They're probably paying more for 720p CMOS, because nobody actually uses them anymore. Even WyzeCams are 1080p.

Maybe they bought 5 million of them and they need to burn their inventory? It's a mystery.

All (there might be a few that don't but I haven't found any with >720p) modern laptops are using 720p cameras. This is not Apple being cheap. This is the market within laptops.

 

[Tech198]

1080p upgrades... should be next step i reckon .. By keeping 720p, Apple is not only lagging behind where other competitors have better webcams at 1080p, but its also forcing a stronger message "Apple wants to push people to iPhone."

 

[konqerror]

10th gen Intel Icelake does support it but it requires using a special RF module on the platform which Apple probably didn't see the need to include for a bottom-of-the-line laptop to save on costs.

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So they included an entire standalone Broadcom module instead? It's not like they're eliminating Wi-Fi.

It's much more likely that Apple wants to stick with Broadcom due to commonality with previous models, commonality with iPhones, the ability to have 3 streams on higher-end models, their power-saving full MAC architecture, and likely some sort of financial arrangement.

Wi-Fi 6 devices must support WPA3, a Wi-Fi security protocol with improved cryptographic strength.

While Wi-Fi 6 certified devices (not Apple) must support WPA3, Apple has back-ported WPA3 to existing Wi-Fi 5 devices as of Catalina and iOS 13. Microsoft has done so as well on devices where the hardware vendor supports it.

 

[LotusLord]

We just bought my brother a MacBook Air 13” yesterday before the new release. Should we return this for the new one? The current model now starts with i3 and can be optioned to an i5. But the processor on the previous generation still seems faster. Please correct me if I’m wrong, is this new version an upgrade?

Yes absolutely swap. The new keyboard alone will make the new model less of a frustration.

 

[cycomiko]

Can anybody explain at a technical level why the MacBook Air doesn't have Wi-Fi 6? It is integrated in the 10th gen Intel ecosystem, right?

because that extra dollar is better in apples pocket than yours

 

[cmaier]

We just bought my brother a MacBook Air 13” yesterday before the new release. Should we return this for the new one? The current model now starts with i3 and can be optioned to an i5. But the processor on the previous generation still seems faster. Please correct me if I’m wrong, is this new version an upgrade?

New processors are faster than old