In recent days, rumors have been gathering that the iPhone 15 family will be the first generation to be able to access the 6GHz band that the Wi-Fi 6E router opens up.
Unfortunately, it looks like this report may only be half true. If the leaked internal documents prove to be valid, it looks like Wi-Fi 6E will be reserved only for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra.
as given by leaker unknown21 (Opens in new tab) and shared by MacRumors (Opens in new tab), the documents show a basic diagram of a smartphone with various antennas dotted around the frame.
The documents refer to two upcoming devices – the D8x and D3y – and how they differ from the D7x and D2y (presumably the current generation iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro). A portion with two antennas is labeled “WiFi 6e (D8x only),” which confirms the defaults for the regular iPhone 15, assuming the document is genuine.
MacRumors reports that the site has “seen additional documentation that indicates the Wi-Fi 6E will be a Pro-only feature.”
Pro Divide
If you don’t have a Wi-Fi 6E router, you won’t care too much, but it’s still interesting what it says about how Apple approaches its Pro iPhones.
In the past, the differences between the Pro and non-Pro models were clear enough for tech novices to see the benefits of paying a little more. Think the power (and physical number) of cameras, the more fluid screen, and physical size of the Pro Max.
This generation, it has proven to be a bit too dominant, with the Pro models often going out of stock while the regular versions remain on the shelves. For tech obsessives, the reasons seem obvious: The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus use last year’s chips, and there aren’t much of an upgrade. Clearly, as I’ve written before, you’re better off sourcing a refurbished iPhone 13 Pro.
Apple is said to be considering several options this year to correct the imbalance, including possible price cuts and narrowing the gap between Pro and non-Pro. The latest rumors back the latter, at least superficially, with the introduction of Dynamic Island and a 48MP camera upgrade.
However, something like the WiFi 6E? It’s nowhere near a mainstream enough concern, and is probably something Apple can limit without anyone but hardcore users paying attention. Notably, those hardcore users are reliably the kind of people who gravitate towards the Pro options anyway.
Of course, this could all be a hoax, but Unknownz21 has a pretty strong track record, having previously obtained a copy of iOS 14 (opens in new tab) ahead of its 2020 launch.
This document, the leaker says, is “only the tip of the iceberg,” promising MacRumors that more iPhone 15 leaks including full images will follow in March when the phone is in its engineering verification testing phase.
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