Apple’s on-stage presentations during Tuesday’s ‘Wonderlust’ iPhone event were light on tech specifications, as usual. However, post-event coverage has revealed the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max support some newer wireless tech.
First up, the 15 Pro and Pro Max both offer Wi-Fi 6E support (the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, unfortunately, support Wi-Fi 6). 6E support means the 15 Pro and Pro Max can connect to 6GHz Wi-Fi bands, which means faster speeds, reduced latency and less interference.
However, the benefits of Wi-Fi 6E also require a compatible router, so if you don’t have a 6E router, this particular iPhone 15 Pro feature won’t do much for you.
Along with Wi-Fi 6E, the iPhone 15 Pro models support Thread, the new mesh networking protocol that, in conjunction with Matter, aims to improve smart home gadget connectivity.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s Thread radio will allow the device to connect to and control Thread-connected smart home products directly. This will be a more important feature in the future as more gadgets begin to support Thread. For now, on the Apple side, only the HomePod mini and Apple TV support Thread.
Again, Thread connectivity isn’t available for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.
While it’s a bummer that the new connectivity features are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro series, it’s good to see Apple adding support for these things. We should see these features trickle down to non-Pro models in future releases.
All of our Apple fall hardware event content can be found here.
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