The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will undoubtedly be more powerful than their predecessors, but they may also support faster data speeds, if a recent leak is to be believed.
According to a report in DigiTimes (through MacRumors), the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max both support Wi-Fi 7, which would be an upgrade over the Wi-Fi 6E support of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Wi-Fi 7 could 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 particularly beneficial for online gaming and downloading huge files.
As always, we’re taking this rumor with a grain of salt, but this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Wi-Fi 7 support, as back in October, Jeff Pu – an analyst at Haitong International Securities – made the same claim . Pu has a decent track record and while this was very early for iPhone 16 leaks, hearing the same spec again now suggests this tip could be accurate.
Just one part of the chain
Of course, to use Wi-Fi 7, your phone also needs to be connected to a router that supports it, and most don’t yet. And if you don’t have a super fast internet subscription, you won’t be able to get the most out of it.
For most people, the addition of Wi-Fi 7 is likely to future-proof the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max rather than deliver any huge benefits right away. Still, it would be a nice upgrade.
Whether it will actually be an upgrade remains to be seen, but we’ll find out in September, when the iPhone 16 line will most likely be unveiled.