WiFi 6 and the new 14” MacBook Pro ?

[TheRealAlex]

I’d say there’s a 90% Chance the new 14” MacBook Pro has WiFi 6. But there’s a 100% Chance I won’t buy it Unless it has WiFi 6.

How Do you fellow Apple enthusiasts feel about WiFi 6 which is an essential new Technology ?


Even with that Said the New 16” MacBook Pro I can forgive Apple using a 5 year old Skylake architecture 9th Gen ish Intel CPU, I can forgive not having a 120Hz Display. Or even No HDR. I can look past a lot, but Not WiFi 6 on a Laptop. When the iPhone 11 Pro Max has WiFi 6 And so does the Note 10+

 

[Howard2k]

There are no legitimate rumours of a 14”. There are rumours of a new 13”.

Wifi6 is not an essential technology.

 

[jerryk]

Personally, I don't care much about Wifi 6 until it becomes more ubiquitous.

Both ends of the connections need support 802.11ax (marketed as Wifi 6) to get max throughput. That is, both the access point and your device must support it. Right now there are very few access points or router/access point combos that support 802.11ax. So for many connections at the workplace or public spaces you are back to good old 802.11ac or older performance.

Also, even with 802.11ac I can get close to 1 gigabit/sec at 5Ghz at my home.

 

[psingh01]

I think its pretty lame that the 16” doesn’t support wifi6 when other manufacturers with the same cpu offer wifi6. Just saving money on components probably.

 

[Falhófnir]

It's difficult to say at this point given Apple's plans for the lineup are up in the air. I think a 14" model would make a lot of sense, but according to this from Kuo it explicitly looks like next year Apple plans to introduce refreshed scissor keyboard 13 and 15 inch MacBook Pros (maybe the 15" could return as an iGPU only machine with internals similar to the 13", or maybe they will go back to the smaller 15.4" size for the ARM MBP?)

 

[Nacho98]

I'll care when Apple makes a Wifi 6 Time Capsule...

 

[jr69]

It's difficult to say at this point given Apple's plans for the lineup are up in the air. I think a 14" model would make a lot of sense, but according to this from Kuo it explicitly looks like next year Apple plans to introduce refreshed scissor keyboard 13 and 15 inch MacBook Pros (maybe the 15" could return as an iGPU only machine with internals similar to the 13", or maybe they will go back to the smaller 15.4" size for the ARM MBP?)

I can't think of any reason for Apple to release a 15" MBP in 2020 when they just replaced it with the new 16" MBP, unless its some sort of "MacBook Air Plus", a MBA with a bigger screen.

 

[Falhófnir]

I can't think of any reason for Apple to release a 15" MBP in 2020 when they just replaced it with the new 16" MBP, unless its some sort of "MacBook Air Plus", a MBA with a bigger screen.

I did give the two reasons I could think of - making the 15" into just a larger version of the more mainstream 13" Pro rather than it being both bigger and more powerful (and therefore a lot more expensive and thus more niche). This would allow Apple to have a size option for the machines which cover the broadest base. Cheap enough to be a general use computer, but also competent enough with quad- (even hexa-) core CPUs and Intel's (from 10th gen onwards finally reasonably competent) Iris plus graphics. Then the lineup is completed with the super small, cheap and portable Air and the super powerful but expensive 16" Pro.

Alternatively, the 15" Pro is undoubtedly the machine Apple wanted/ wants to make. It's just they had to compromise too much to do it, so they fixed it, but the fix meant a bigger machine. If their own ARM chips are cool and quiet enough that they can make a super thin and compact 15" again without compromise on the keyboard or thermals, I don't doubt it would be an appealing option for them.

Ultimately I don't know, but Kuo is saying in that note that it's happening and he's right more than he's wrong. We don't have any other solid indications to go by yet.

 

[Donnation]

I have WiFi 6 on my iPhone Pro Max and its been utilized exactly zero times. I don't plan on outfitting my home with a new mesh router system that supports it, nor do I see it within the next 3-4 years becoming something that is widely used. So no, I do not see it as essential technoligy.

It's a nice buzz word, but I don't think its anything more than that and won't be for a while.

 

[Ericdjensen]

I’d say there’s little to no chance. Who has 10 gbps speeds or anywhere close to it? Is there some other advantage to Wi-Fi 6?

 

[Howard2k]

I’d say there’s little to no chance. Who has 10 gbps speeds or anywhere close to it? Is there some other advantage to Wi-Fi 6?

Oh yeah, there are definitely advantages to Wifi6 in many situations. It’s nowhere near “essential” for the majority of users though, that’s absurd.

I’m sure the next 13” will have Wifi6, but it shouldn’t be a show stopper for the majority.

 

[Weaselboy]

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...-fi-6-performance-roundup-five-routers-tested

Smallnetbuilder did a test of five of the new wifi6 routers and they weren't too impressed. Here was the conclusion at the end of the article.

Even after almost a year after the first products started shipping, Wi-Fi 6 remains very much a work in progress. Key features (OFDMA, AX MU-MIMO, Target Wake Time (TWT)) are still not enabled by most products and, if these tests are any indication, you're unlikely to see performance gains in from 5 GHz.
If you have AX devices and feel you must upgrade right now, spend as little as possible. Until OFDMA is enabled and we see whether that helps bring more bandwidth to busy WLANs and reduce latency, there's no sense in making a large investment that may not pay off.

Personally, I don't think it worth the added cost for a wifi6 router at this point. I plan to wait for it to mature a little.

So nah.... it would not really matter to me if the MBP updates don't have wifi6.