The new iPad Pro isn't at the cutting edge of Wi-Fi.
The new iPad Pro announced yesterday was full of powerful new components—but Apple watchers may be wondering why two cutting-edge wireless technologies were left out.
Specs pages for the new device confirm that both Wi-Fi 7 and mmWave 5G are omitted from the tablet, leaving it unable to benefit from the fastest possible wireless speeds.
Are these signs of Apple falling behind the times or are there good reasons for the omissions? I’ve spoken to two industry experts to get their views.
iPad Pro Wi-Fi Wait
The launch of the new iPad Pro was an opportunity for Apple to bring its Wi-Fi technology bang up to date with support for Wi-Fi 7. However, the new device remains on the older Wi-Fi 6E standard, which while still fast enough for the vast majority of purposes, doesn’t offer some of the more advanced features of Wi-Fi 7, such as the ability to combine bandwidth from multiple wireless bands.
Apple has always been relatively slow to adopt the latest Wi-Fi standards, preferring to take its time and let standards settle down before moving to the latest iteration. However, dozens of smartphones have now been released with support for Wi-Fi 7, including high-profile devices such as the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, was invited to the iPad launch event at Apple HQ yesterday and was surprised at the omission at Wi-Fi 7. “I put together a few notes ahead of the launch and I thought Wi-Fi 7 will be there,” he said. “It seems to be a trend right across the board, but it didn’t make it in there.”
Given how many other cutting-edge components were introduced, Wood was left wondering why the Wi-Fi didn’t get a bump, too. “They didn’t say it, but if you look at the overall specs of the iPad Pro, it very much looks like a future-proof device,” he said. “With the screen technology, the processor, and even the price, it seems to tick all the boxes. So, yes, it was a surprise.”
Paolo Pescatore, founder of analyst firm PP Foresight, believes the relatively slow rollout of Wi-Fi 7 has given Apple breathing space. “When you look at something like Wi-Fi 7, it won't really start to become widespread until next year, or the year after,” he said.
The slow upgrade cycle for home routers is another reason why Apple’s in no rush to bring the latest Wi-Fi standard to the iPad, according to Pescatore. “Even though there's a new iPhone every year, how often do people really change their home Wi-Fi routers? We're probably still going to be a few years out before we start seeing that [Wi-Fi 7] in people's homes,” he said.
Where Has mmWave 5G Gone?
The more startling omission is that of mmWave 5G, which has appeared in previous models of both the iPad and iPhone. So why has Apple decided to ditch it?
There’s no official explanation, but it looks likely that a lack of carrier support is to blame for the mmWave 5G omission.
The mmWave technology works best over short distances that are relatively unobstructed. It’s been deployed in high-density areas such as sports stadiums, where you have tens of thousands of people trying to access the service in close proximity, and it can offer incredible speeds of up to 2Gbits/sec.
However, it doesn’t work well in built-up inner-city environments because the signal largely fails to penetrate obstacles such as walls and windows. That has limited deployments in the U.S., the only nation where Apple has previously sold mmWave-capable devices.
“Very simply, it's still quite early [for mmWave],” said Paolo Pescatore. “If you look at the telcos and their rollout plans for 5G, they haven't really got standalone 5G off the ground yet.”
“It’s that chicken and egg situation,” he added. “It's hard to put in something when you don't have that widespread availability around the world. In keeping with the Apple ethos, they could probably wait a little bit longer before they actually support it.”
Ben Wood agrees, adding that Apple may decide to use its own silicon for mmWave 5G later down the line, saving the money now for upgrades to other components. “Apple has always been in this fortunate position where it's typically dictated terms to its customers,” he said.
Whereas other smartphone manufacturers might feel obliged to offer support for new standards as soon as they’re offered by carriers, “Apple says, actually no, we don't think there's demand for that, so we're not going to do it.”
