Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi is confusing. In the ‘old’ days, Wi-Fi versions were called ‘802.11’ followed by a letter, which was usually shortened to just the letter, such as Wi-Fib or Wi-Fin. However, since the specifications for Wi-Fi are developed by engineers, there were lots of ‘in-between’ Wi-Fi specifications that kept Wi-Fi designations from being sequential. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization responsible for such specifications decided to convert those older designations into a simple form as shown below, hopefully simplifying things for consumers, who have had to deal with trying to understand the compatibility between their router and their smartphone when the router says “compatible with 802.11 a,b,g,n” and their phone says “Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac). Unfortunately things are still a bit opaque as the current version of Wi-Fi is 802.116e, which doesn’t have a new and simple designation, making the name changeover a bit messy, but don’t worry because Wi-Fi chip supplier Mediatek (2454.TT) has just shown a demo of its new Wi-Fi 7 chip, which it expects to release in 2023, cutting short the life of Wi-Fi 6e.
The good news is that specifications for Wi-Fi 7 are almost completed, which means that we should start to see such demos from other Wi-Fi chip suppliers later this year, paving the way for release next year and widespread use in 2024. Not only does this simplify the Wi-Fi nomenclature, but the specifications for Wi-Fi 7 are considerably better than those for Wi-Fi 6e, and will allow for data speeds up to 46Gbps, which would mean you could download a 25Gb Blu-ray movie file in a few seconds, and AR/VR headset Wi-Fi connections will be able to take advantage of those higher connection speeds[1].
Bu wait, there is more… Aside from the faster connection speed, Wi-Fi 7 will provide for the use of 16 antennae, twice that of Wi-Fi 6, which means a router should be able to handle more devices with less bandwidth (speed) sharing and interruptions, with the possibility that final specifications will allow for all three frequency bands to be used by such devices at the same time, further helping any bandwidth contention, all of which could put Wi-Fi speeds ahead or wired connections for the first time.
All in, Wi-Fi 6/6e will have a shorter life than originally expected, as Wi-Fi 7 is moving quickly toward commercialization. While still two years out for the mass market, the incremental change will reduce some of the limitations that home VR systems face today, and while there are still many mountains to climb before users will no longer have to spend all of their time in the real world, its one less brick in the wall.
[1] Connection Speeds are theoretical as actual connection speeds will be lower.
The good news is that specifications for Wi-Fi 7 are almost completed, which means that we should start to see such demos from other Wi-Fi chip suppliers later this year, paving the way for release next year and widespread use in 2024. Not only does this simplify the Wi-Fi nomenclature, but the specifications for Wi-Fi 7 are considerably better than those for Wi-Fi 6e, and will allow for data speeds up to 46Gbps, which would mean you could download a 25Gb Blu-ray movie file in a few seconds, and AR/VR headset Wi-Fi connections will be able to take advantage of those higher connection speeds[1].
Bu wait, there is more… Aside from the faster connection speed, Wi-Fi 7 will provide for the use of 16 antennae, twice that of Wi-Fi 6, which means a router should be able to handle more devices with less bandwidth (speed) sharing and interruptions, with the possibility that final specifications will allow for all three frequency bands to be used by such devices at the same time, further helping any bandwidth contention, all of which could put Wi-Fi speeds ahead or wired connections for the first time.
All in, Wi-Fi 6/6e will have a shorter life than originally expected, as Wi-Fi 7 is moving quickly toward commercialization. While still two years out for the mass market, the incremental change will reduce some of the limitations that home VR systems face today, and while there are still many mountains to climb before users will no longer have to spend all of their time in the real world, its one less brick in the wall.
[1] Connection Speeds are theoretical as actual connection speeds will be lower.
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