Ming-Chi Kuo has an interesting revelation, but it’s not entirely surprising.
The UWB chip is being upgraded this year.
We are talking about the iPhone 15, which according to Kuo is getting an upgraded U-chip. The U1 chip (with “Ultra Widebind”) found in recent iPhones ensures that they can be found back together with other Apple devices more accurately than just using Bluetooth as well as transferring music from iPhone to HomePod 2 and HomePod mini. What Apple is planning now for the iPhone 15, ahead of the launch of the Apple Vision Pro early next year (US only), is an upgrade to UWB technology.
We don’t know if the name will be U2, but according to Kuo, Apple will upgrade the chip by producing it with 16nm technology instead of 7nm. This will improve performance and power consumption. It goes without saying that the best performer is always betterbut how it will improve Apple Vision Pro in practice has not been revealed.
WiFi 7 won’t come to the iPhone until next year
Looking ahead, until September 2024, Kuo says Apple will equip the iPhone 16 with WiFi 7 “which will be more beneficial to Apple’s integration with hardware products running on the same local network and provide a better ecosystem experience.”
In this way, with “U2” and WiFi 7, the connection performance and lag between iPhone and Apple Vision Pro are improved. This will be especially important for the Apple Vision Pro 2, which is expected after the launch of a less expensive model that will likely launch in late 2025. Apple won’t be completely satisfied with the performance of the Apple Vision Pro at $3,499.
We still don’t know the specifications of the Apple Vision Pro other than the fact that it uses an M2 chipset, a set of sensors, and 4K resolution for each eye.
WiFi 7 will be much faster – it may be just what Apple needs
Already in January last year, we wrote about WiFi 7 getting Ethernet speeds. Last August, Intel revealed its plans for the updated technology:
“We are currently developing Intel WiFi 802.11be in order to obtain WiFi Alliance certification. The technology will be installed in computer products such as laptops by 2024. We expect WiFi 7 to reach the largest markets in 2025,” explains Eric McLaughlin, who is a “VP for the company’s wireless products.
McLaughlin highlighted at the meeting in Asia that 802.11be nearly doubles the bandwidth that 802.11ax can do. This means that it is boosted to 230Hz and “doubles your WiFi speed”. He says there is still more than a year until the launch of 802.11be and the company can work to increase performance even further.
ITavisen, 1 August 2022
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