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Unlike iPhone 16 Models, Apple's M4 Macs Lack Wi-Fi 7 Support

For troglodytes like me who lack modern-speed internet service (mine is 100 Mbps, and highly doubtful it will be faster in the next decade) the "lack" of ultra-speed networking isn't really missed. I doubt I'm the only one. So, I guess I have to say that I am pleased that I am not subsidizing other peoples' blazing fast modems and network connections. Ha!

Frankly, for my everyday use and having 2-3 things streaming at once (thats a heavy workload in this house) 100 Mbps works quite nicely. Not sure what I would gain at gigabit or faster internet speeds. I see where that COULD ABSOLUTELY be advantageous (and file transfers, etc within a wifi network), but I guess I'm happy with the tradeoff of slower (but adequate) speeds and living in a peaceful semi-rural area with amazing views day and night.

Hey - who else was there when Steve unplugged the new MacBook and walked across the stage while on the internet? I was about 12 rows back and thought I was witnessing a miracle at 5 Mbps networking speed.
 
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if you've owned apple products for a long time, you know why this is. don't give out all the features all at once - ration, ration, ration so there is a reason to upgrade next year when the machine is only a marginally faster than the last one. same idea for software. keep features from last gen phones, ipads or computers that can most certainly run them without issue. apple has become increasingly less customer focused year after year and more self serving - guess it serves the bottom line... for now, but you slowly piss off your long time customers.
 
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tobybrut said:
That is disappointing not to have 7. I recently upgraded my WiFi 6e system to WiFi 7 when Amazon had its last Prime Day. I picked up TP-Link routers for 53% off. WiFi 7 is a major improvement over WiFi 6e even if a device doesn’t support 7. On my previous system, my iPad with 6e would get about 400Mbps over the Internet (I have a 1.2Gbps plan). With 7, that same iPad gets a tiny bit over 1Gbps. The range is also improved with the far corners of the house getting improved reception. We have only one WiFi 7 device on the network, which gets 1.4Gbps Internet speed, the same I get for wired Ethernet. As an aside, my max speed is supposed to be 1.2Gbps, but I guess I’ll take 1.4Gbps.

I don’t have anything to test internal network speed, though I do have a 2.5Gbps network. I’m guessing a WiFi 7 device would be able to reach that fairly easily since YouTubers report getting 7-9Gbps internally with their devices.

Fortunately, I don’t plan to upgrade so it won’t matter. I already have an M3 Max machine and an M4 Max just wouldn’t be worth the expense.
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I hope you're OK. Please keep us posted.
 
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Getting mad because the Mac only supports WiFi 6E and not 7 is like getting mad that your McDonalds Big Mac has one less slice of pickle than a Burger King Whopper: you will literally never notice the difference. 🍔

...I say, typing this from my phone while I get dinner at Wendy's.
 
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QandnotU said:
This is a head scratcher, PCs need the bandwidth more than an iPhone.
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It is odd. though my MacBook is typically plugged into a dock that has a fast ethernet. So, a strange decision but maybe not one that is consequential for many
 
Thank you for writing this article. Huge mistake by Apple and just shows laziness and taking advantage of the consumer. I won’t be upgrading to any Apple products that are not WiFi 7 compatible. Especially computers.

Makes 0 sense that iPhone 16 Pro’s have WiFI 7, which a phone and computers, iPads, etc do not. Thanks for staying cutting edge Apple.
 
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glindon said:
I’m still on AC (wifi 5?). Plenty fast enough for my gigabit internet. The price of routers has gotten insane so the current one will have to die before I upgrade.
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But But how else am I going to download all my 70b LLM's for AI trolling the Interwebs...
 
GDF said:
Thank you for writing this article. Huge mistake by Apple and just shows laziness and taking advantage of the consumer. I won’t be upgrading to any Apple products that are not WiFi 7 compatible. Especially computers.

Makes 0 sense that iPhone 16 Pro’s have WiFI 7, which a phone and computers, iPads, etc do not. Thanks for staying cutting edge Apple.
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I agree unfortunately apple isn’t the same anymore, this year has shown me none of the upgrades have been worth it, we want real change, get rid of the notch make it lighter etc , this should of had WiFi 7 people don’t change their macs every year
 
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That’s not exactly surprising, but disappointing. Maybe the best use case would be for more resolution with desktop mirroring on Vision Pro, but that likely wouldn’t come until at least the lower end Vision if not the next Vision Pro. Would’ve been nice for this generation to get it, though.
 
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wikiverse said:
Nah. This will be Apple's new 8GB of RAM. They'll hold off wifi 7 for at least a decade.

It's important that Apple give MacRumors forum users something to complain about.
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Next thing should be SSD space and at least 2.5 Gbe on the Mini.
 
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