I find it a bit surprising surprising that they didn't include this in their new Macbook Pro Retina.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac
Standard finalization is anticipated in late 2012
I'd imagine it's because of this
Is the current BCM4331 sufficient for streaming 1080P via AirPlay Mirroring?
Anyone know any test or reviews related to this?
Well that's just a foolish statement. The MBPr DOES have Gigabit Ethernet support. It has an onboard Broadcom BCM57100 series Gigabit Ethernet/Memory Card reader controller. It just lacks the RJ45 connector. You need the Thunderbolt/GigE adapter to connect to it (explaining why the adapter is only $29, by the way). This is a far cry from the computer not having Ethernet. Frankly, I think needing the adapter for the rare times you won't be using WiFi is a great trade-off for being able to deliver a computer as thin and light-weight as the MBPr.
Umm the Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter is not leveraging an onboard Ethernet IC:
http://blog.fosketts.net/2012/07/03/apple-thunderbolt-ethernet-adapter-mini-marvel/
The chip's purpose for being on the board must be for the SD card reader.
Apple probably decided not to add Ethernet support because they couldn't find a way to make it fit onto rMBP's slimmer case.
Well that's just a foolish statement. The MBPr DOES have Gigabit Ethernet support. It has an onboard Broadcom BCM57100 series Gigabit Ethernet/Memory Card reader controller. It just lacks the RJ45 connector. You need the Thunderbolt/GigE adapter to connect to it (explaining why the adapter is only $29, by the way). This is a far cry from the computer not having Ethernet. Frankly, I think needing the adapter for the rare times you won't be using WiFi is a great trade-off for being able to deliver a computer as thin and light-weight as the MBPr.
If BCM4335 is available Q1 2013, is it possible to 1) buy BCM4335 and 2) install into rMBP?