Apple’s 2020 iPhones could support a new short-range WiFi standard, according to new reports from insiders at the Japanese Apple blog, MacOtakara.
They suggest that Apple will introduce 802.11ay on its new iPhones, offering four times the bandwidth as the previous IEEE 802.11ad generation, and offering up to four streams of multiple transmission.
The specification uses the 60GHz spectrum, and will reportedly be released before the end of 2020, just in time for Apple to integrate into the iPhone 12 range.
The latest report calls the new brand “ultra-short range”, meaning that it could be used to communicate between iPhones and other Apple devices in short proximity, or perhaps even for an entirely new Apple product, like the company’s rumored AR/VR headset, which had previously been reported to require a “box” using the 802.11ay standard in order to work.
The primary purpose of switching to IEEE 802.11ay is to allow other network-enabled items to be added to iPhones and the nearfield network, rather than relying on standard WiFi and the cloud.
Being able to connect at gigabit WI-Fi speeds would allow Apple to stream content from an iPhone to a VR headset, for example, without specialist hardware.
What are your thoughts on this rumor? Let us know your thoughts and check back soon for more news on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 12 range of smartphones, expected in September.
