The entire iPhone 16 lineup adds support for faster Wi-Fi 7

Apple introduced the new iPhone 16 models today and users will soon be able to pre-order them. 

Benefits of Wi-Fi 7

Wi-Fi 7 was officially launched by the international Wi-Fi Alliance earlier this year and brings significant upgrades like lower latency and much higher transmission speeds, making it perfect for 8K streaming and mixed reality devices like the Apple Vision Pro.

Essentially, Wi-Fi 7 devices can transfer more data in a shorter amount of time, which is essential for streaming at resolutions higher than 4K. These improvements also benefit online games and AR/VR devices that contain 3D content, which typically requires much more bandwidth than regular content.

While the current Wi-Fi 6E maximum transmission speed is around 9 Gbps, Wi-Fi 7 is capable of reaching speeds of up to 46 Gbps. This is 5 times faster than the current generation of Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi 7 isn't just faster. It operates on 320 MHz channels, which are significantly wider than those used by previous Wi-Fi standards. This, combined with the 6 GHz band, helps reduce signal interference and congestion. Devices can also transmit and receive data simultaneously over multiple links of different frequencies with Wi-Fi 7.

The entire iPhone 16 lineup adds support for faster Wi-Fi 7 Picture 1

iPhone 16 supports Wi-Fi 7

While last year only the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models got the Wi-Fi 6E upgrade, this year Apple has added Wi-Fi 7 support to all new iPhone 16 models. This includes the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

The upgrade has been confirmed by Apple on the new iPhone's specs page, coming with "Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO1".

The iPhone 16 lineup will be available for pre-order starting Friday, September 13. The new phones will officially launch next week, September 20. Apple says the iPhone 16 will be available in more countries the following week.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 10 September 2024