Wi-Fi 7 is on everyone’s lips, at least among brands, the latter promising dizzying speeds and unprecedented connectivity. But behind the hype lies a more nuanced reality.
After Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E… this is the arrival of Wi-Fi 7, the latest iteration. The latter promises stratospheric speeds and reduced latency, this new standard has more than one geek salivating. Could we really do without an Ethernet cable in all (or almost) situations?
But as is often the case in tech, all that glitters is not gold.
Wi-Fi 7, whose?
Let’s start with the basics. Wi-Fi 7, or for short IEEE 802.11be, is the seventh generation of the Wi-Fi standard. On paper, it’s heavy: theoretical speeds of up to 46 Gbps, the use of ultra-fast channels 320 MHz wide, and the ability to juggle several frequency bands simultaneously. In short, the kind of specs that make any lover of instant downloads and 8K streaming dream.
To go further
Wi-Fi 7: routers, PC cards, internet boxes… Which Wi-Fi 7 compatible device to choose?
But now, as with any new technology, there is a catch. Or rather, several. The first is that Wi-Fi 7 certification does not require the implementation of all these shiny features.
A performance story
This is where our friends at Apple, Asus and Gigabyte come into play. These brands have proudly announced their Wi-Fi 7 compatible products. This is the case for the latest iPhone 16, including the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. Great, right? Well, not really. Because what they forgot to mention is that their Wi-Fi 7 chips are… restricted as pointed out MacG.
Let’s take the example of Apple with its iPhone 16. The Apple firm has integrated Wi-Fi 7, of course, but by limiting the width of the channels to 160 MHz in the 6 GHz band. Result ? Flow rates that do not exceed those of the previous generation.
As for PC motherboard manufacturers, it’s the same song. Asus and Gigabyte have opted for Intel BE202 chips, also limited to 160 MHz channels. MSI, for its part, boasts with its Intel BE200 chips, capable of using 320 MHz channels and therefore achieving higher speeds.
They even went so far as to make a communication on this subject.
The devil is in the details
But be careful, even with these limitations, Wi-Fi 7 remains an impressive technology. In the 6 GHz band, speeds of around 1.5 Gb/s can be achieved in practice. This is certainly less than the theoretical 4 Gb/s with 320 MHz channels, but it is still well above the average speed of an Internet connection.
The real problem lies in the communication around these products. When you pay a small fortune for a state-of-the-art iPhone or a high-end motherboard, you legitimately expect to benefit from the ultimate in technology. However, this is not always the case.
It should also be noted that Wi-Fi 7 exists in a “dual band” version, using only the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, without the 6 GHz band. Here, it’s worse, these versions, less expensive, offer performance barely better than that of Wi-Fi 6.
Wi-Fi 7 is a promising technology, but one that currently suffers from a somewhat overenthusiastic marketing problem. You will have to look closely at the small lines of the technical sheets.
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