The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are sure to be more powerful than their predecessors, but they might also support higher data speeds, if a recent leak is to be believed.
According to a report in DigiTimes (via MacRumors), the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will both support Wi-Fi 7, which would be an upgrade on the Wi-Fi 6E support of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Wi-Fi 7 can be dramatically faster than Wi-Fi 6E, with theoretical speeds of over 40Gbps – which is four times faster than what you can get with Wi-Fi 6E. And it’s not just faster, it also offers lower latency and greater reliability, for an all-round smoother experience, which should be especially beneficial for online gaming and downloading massive files.
As ever, we’d take this rumor with a pinch of salt, but this isn’t the first we’ve heard of Wi-Fi 7 support, as back in October, Jeff Pu – an analyst with Haitong International Securities – made the same claim. Pu has a reasonable track record, and while that was very early for iPhone 16 leaks, hearing the same spec again now suggests that this tip might well be accurate.
Just one part of the chain
Of course, to make use of Wi-Fi 7, your phone also needs to be connected to a router that supports it, and most don’t yet. On top of that, if you’re not on a very high-speed internet plan, then you also won’t be able to get the most out of it.
So, for most people, the addition of Wi-Fi 7 will probably be more future-proofing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, rather than providing major benefits on day one, but it would still be a nice upgrade to have.
Whether it’s an upgrade we’ll get remains to be seen, but we should find out in September, as that’s when the iPhone 16 line will most likely be unveiled.