01.03.2020, 1:44 p.m.
Note: We used commission links in this article and marked them with “*”. If an order is placed via these links, t3n.de receives a commission.
According to a report, Apple’s iPhone 12 will have a new shortwave WLAN standard 802.11ay on board. Among other things, it is speculated that this should be intended for communication with Apple’s upcoming AR glasses.
The Japanese Apple-Blog Macotakara has recently reported that Apple’s iPhone 12 series, released in September, is said to have installed a new WLAN standard. The US magazine Macworld assumes that the WLAN 802.11ay standard could be used due to its specifications for communicating with Apple’s first AR glasses.
iPhone 12 probably with ultra-fast 802.11ay WLAN
The 802.11ay standard is a wireless radio technology with a fairly short range, high data throughput, but also manageable purposes. However, it could upgrade Apple’s iPhone portfolio and add smart features, similar to the ultra-wideband technology used in the iPhone 11 with the U1 chip was installed and should bring new uses over time.
This is what the 2020 iPhone 12 models could look like. (Render Image: Ben Geskin)
–
802.11ay is not completely new, because it is basically a further development of the Wigig standards (802.11ad)who saw the light of day about ten years ago. Like 802.11ay, Wigig operates in the 60 gigahertz band and is able to transmit data with low latency and high speed.
For comparison: The conventional WLAN for notebooks or smartphones works in the frequency ranges 2.4 and 5 gigahertz. Due to the higher frequency of Wigig, the range is smaller and the signal cannot penetrate walls. As far as the higher speeds are concerned, the shortwaves should be able to achieve up to seven gigabits per second.
With 802.11ay, or it will be called “Wigig 2”, whose protocol was finalized in 2019, the 60 gigahertz frequency range will continue to be used, as mentioned, but it should offer even more bandwidth. An ay stream should reach up to 44 gigabits per second, and it is also possible to couple four parallel streams with a total of 176 gigabits per second. According to Macworld (via 9to5 Mac) the speed of only one stream can HDMI 2.1 be compared.
Wifi IEEE802.11ay transmits in the 60 gigahertz range. (Graphic: Qualcomm)
–
In short: 802.11ay is super fast, but has the disadvantage that the signal cannot penetrate walls. It can therefore be understood as a kind of Bluetooth with higher throughput rates. 9to5Mac Therefore speculates that Apple could use the new protocol, among other things, for faster airdrop between iPhones. In view of the fact that airdrops usually transmit small amounts of data in the form of documents or photos, 802.11ay would be an exaggeration.
802.11ya: Fast wireless exchange between iPhone and VR or AR glasses possible
As Jason Cross of Macworld notes, the standard would be possible due to its low latency and high speed, for example to send data to high-resolution displays with a high refresh rate – such as virtual reality or augmented reality headsets.
Apple AR headset patent sketch. (Image: USPTO)
–
It’s no secret that Apple is working on VR and especially AR glasses: Apple boss Tim Cook has said that more than once AR is the next big thing and just as important as the iPhone will be,
With the integration of the 802.11a standard, Apple is preparing for its next stage of evolution. At the beginning of Apple’s AR era, iPhones could still be used as a data center, brain and player – the radio standard is the fast, latency-free data bridge. If you put all of the technology in a headset, it would be heavy, bulky and would have a short battery life. In the long term, headsets or glasses could possibly work completely independently; for this, the technology must be miniaturized further and probably also become more energy efficient.
When Apple will present its first AR glasses is currently unclear. Last rumors spoke of 2022 – other Sources are from an earlier period out.
More on the subject:
–
