WiGig: Redefining the Wi-Fi Experience for iPhone and iPad?
Imagine a 2 GB video being downloaded to your iPhone in less than a second or watching your favorite videos on the iPad in real-time Wi-Fi enabled streaming. Is that possible? Yes, if a recent report from AppleInsider is to be believed – Apple is planning to embrace a new WiFi standard called WiGig, which offers data speeds of 7 gigabits per second and aims to replace high definition video cables.
Wireless Gigabit Alliance and Wi-Fi Alliance have tagged WiGig as the next-generation wireless connectivity. WiGig can transfer up to a whopping 7Gbps, which makes the 802.11n fastest speed of 600Mbps look like a poor old dial-up connection. Apple might be planning to combine a 60GHz adapter with the current Wi-Fi bands 2.4GHz and 5GHz into a single router. The 60GHz adapter permits transferring data at 7 Gbps over short distances. Couple this with a 2.4/5GHz range and you can transmit data at phenomenal speeds over large distances. Mind you, WiGig should be treated as a complement to existing Wi-Fi bands rather than as a replacement.
The first draft of WiGig specs was published yesterday by the Wireless Gigabit Alliance. Wireless Gigabit Alliance has recently partnered with Wi-Fi Alliance to promote new Wi-Fi products to operate in the 60GHz frequency. While the technology is in a conceptual stage and may take a couple of years to be operational on the iPhone and iPad, the prospects are very encouraging.
Last year, Apple partnered with Intel to boost the adoption of Light Peak, a new specification for high-speed optical cables which is projected as a replacement for USB, FIreWire and other cables. Apple has always been a key innovator in driving new technology uptake and I’d hardly be surprised if the rumors of WiGig coming to the iPhone and iPad are actually true. As usual, Apple has declined to comment on these speculations.
After all, the faster, the merrier! What do you think?
