Apple’s latest laptops have slowly moved away from traditional cable based networking, so users are forced to move to wifi networks, or be forced to use adaptors to connect to Ethernet cables. While it is not a major issue, traditional 802.11n based networks are not exactly speedy. They top out at a theoretical 300 or 450 Mbps, but they never get close to that speed.
While the new standard has not been finalised, new code from the latest Mac OS X 10.8.4 beta release shows that Apple is working on getting their software ready. This means that upcoming Macs might indeed ship with “ac” capable wireless networking. And because Apple sells wireless networking equipment in the form of its Airport device range, expect them to be upgraded soon as well. Apple is most probably waiting for the 802.11ac standard to finalized before shipping this hardware.
So if you are in need of faster wireless networking, you will have to wait for the next generation 802.11ac networks, which will enable 1Gbps connections. The new wireless standard will also allow for longer range, so expect to cover your home or office with fewer access points and repeaters. Because of the increased data speeds, portable devices can also move to a lower power state quicker, which saves battery power.
While its clear that 802.11ac will have its benefits, right now none of your normal wifi equipment will be upgradable to the new standard. While the ac standard does allow older “n” and “G” connections to connect to it, it will do so at a decreased speed. So if you want to embrace the 802.11ac standard you will have to wait for ac compatible network cards, devices and ac enabled access points. A few companies already have “draft” ac networking devices out, but these are not based on a agreed upon wifi standard, which will only be finalised in 2014.
Apple has shipped iMacs in the past which was secretly capable of supporting improved wireless standards, and then rolled out a software update to enable improved networking.
Source: 9to5Mac
