It was just a few short years ago when we severalise you about a then - upcoming wireless technology calledWi - Fi 6 . At the time , what was once cognise as 802.11ax was henceforward given a much more consumer - well-disposed name , and previous tangled Wi - Fi standards got exchangeable names : 802.11ac became Wi - Fi 5 , 802.11n became Wi - Fi 4 , and so on .
And now we have an even newer name , Wi - Fi 6E. In little , it ’s an update version of Wi - Fi 6 that includes access to the new 6GHz frequency band . But while it does n’t premise raw features over Wi - Fi 6 , this raw frequency stripe could be a boastful deal and will make a major impact on the future of wireless networking . Wi - Fi 6E is starting to show up in Apple products already ; it ’s not in any iPhone yet , but you ’ll find it in the latest iPad Pros , Mac mini , and 14 - in and 16 - inch MacBook Pro . We ’ll belike line up it in more Apple products released throughout 2023 , including the iPhone 15 .
What’s up with that E?
It ’s severe to believe , but the Wi - Fi standard has been using the same chunks of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands for over 20 days ! Wi - Fi 6 is just the latest effort to use more advanced processing to wring more bandwidth out of it and make it more reliable .
In April 2020 , the FCC took the long - wait footmark of offering up1,200MHz of raw unlicensed spectrum in the 6GHz ambit , more spectrum for Wi - Fi than we ’ve ever gotten at once . Wi - Fi 6E is simply the first Wi - Fi criterion to support these new radio frequency . It did n’t get a new name because it ’s not actually a newfangled engineering — the encoding standards and block size and security features and all the other stuff are exactly the same as Wi - Fi 6 .
That ’s why it ’s not calledWi - Fi 7(otherwise know as 802.11be ) which is still a few age out . Since it ’s still Wi - Fi 6 , Wi - Fi 6E is still classified as 802.11ax , but they stuck an “ E ” on there so people eff which product are able to use the new 6GHz spectrum .
More spectrum means more bandwidth
Allow us to get technical for a instant : The 1200MHz of new spectrum in the 6GHz orbit is divided up into fourteen 80MHz channels and seven 160MHz channels ( they overlap ) . Wi - Fi 6E routers can use these new channels in addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels already available to them , which means they can move a luck more data at once .
How much bandwidth ? Well , that will depend on the router and the twist and what features they substantiate , but we ’re talking aboutmulti - gigabitspeeds at the high end . Wi - Fi 6E gear up up Wi - Fi to plunk for next net connection with speeds that are currentlywayfaster than the internet coming into almost any home today .
Technically , the top theoretical limit of Wi - Fi 6E is the same as you ’d get on the 5GHz stripe of Wi - Fi 6 ( 9.6Gbps ) , but you ’re much more likely to one mean solar day actually test those terminal point with the big roomy 6GHz spectrum .
Wi - Fi 6E also uses more antenna . With Wi - Fi 6 on the iPhone 13 , Apple employ 2×2 MIMO ( Multiple - Input Multiple - Output ) , which is a two - feeler shape with two receiver antennas . Wi - Fi 6E could double that capability to 4X4 , which would increase the bandwidth and download swiftness . Many of Apple ’s first Wi - Fi 6E products have 2×2 MIMO configurations .
Less interference means better reliability
The other fully grown marketing point of Wi - Fi 6E is that there ’s nothing else in that frequency image contending with it . While Wi - Fi 6 ’s 2.5GHz and 5GHz spectrum have to fight with a net ton of old Wi - Fi networks , microwave oven ovens , you name it , Wi - Fi 6E enjoys a bunch of vainglorious , encompassing , mostly empty transmission channel . There are other technologies broadcasting in the 6GHz frequency mountain chain , but with so many full-grown channel to work with , automated frequency control should be able to easy take tutelage of it .
Higher frequencies be given to intend lower reaction time , too , so your Wi - Fi could get closer to the reactivity of a wired mesh . There ’s a downside , of course : higher frequency also do n’t travel as far or through walls as easily , so Wi - Fi 6E does n’t necessarily put up any improvements to range over veritable Wi - Fi 6 .
Should you buy a Wi-Fi 6E router?
To get the full advantages of Wi - Fi 6E , you ’ll need a Wi - Fi 6E router , which is uncommitted from caller such asGoogle , Linksys , andNetgear . Of course , they ’re very new and fairly expensive , and they ’re only going to facilitate if the devices you connect to them also support Wi - Fi 6E. The iPhone 15 will likely be on that list , but if you need a new iPhone before then , it ’s not deserving waiting , especially since you ’ll need a whole new home cyberspace setup to bask the fast speeds .
However , if you ’re in the food market for a new router , we urge looking at the alternative for Wi - Fi 6E. Wi - Fi 6 is keen and wide supported across all of Apple ’s products , but Wi - Fi 6E is even better , and the last thing you want when put in a newfangled Wi - Fi system is buyer ’s remorse .
