Unlike iPhone 16 Models, Apple's M4 Macs Lack Wi-Fi 7 Support

Apple introduced new Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro models this week, adding faster and more efficient M4 chips, along with some other updates like Thunderbolt 5 and nano-texture display options for some models. One upgrade we thought we might see was support for the latest Wi-Fi specification, but the new machines did not get a Wi-Fi 7 upgrade.

M4 MacBook Pro Thumb 2
All of the new M4 Macs continue to offer Wi-Fi 6E, and while it does allow for access to the 6GHz band on supported Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 routers, it's not the latest and greatest technology.

It is surprising that Apple opted out of updating the new machines with Wi-Fi 7 because all of the iPhone 16 models that came out in September feature Wi-Fi 7 chips from Broadcom. The iPhones support the 802.11be Wi-Fi 7 standard with 2x2 MIMO, but there is a caveat with the ‌iPhone 16‌ models that takes a little bit of the sting away from not getting Wi-Fi 7 in Macs.

Apple's Wi-Fi specifications page confirms that the Wi-Fi 7 chips in the ‌iPhone 16‌ models have a maximum physical layer data rate of 2400Mb/s and a maximum channel bandwidth of 160MHz, which is the same performance as the Wi-Fi 6E chips in the iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 Mac models with Wi-Fi 6E on 6GHz networks (Apple's chart hasn't been updated for M4, but presumably the Wi-Fi 6E chips have not changed).

Wi-Fi 7 in the ‌iPhone 16‌ models does up the maximum data rate when connected to 5GHz bands compared to the Wi-Fi 6E chips used in Macs and iPads, but Apple does not support the full 320MHz bandwidth with its Wi-Fi 7 implementation. Wi-Fi 7 offers up to 320MHz bandwidth to accommodate more devices, but Apple has limited bandwidth to 160MHz, so ‌iPhone 16‌ models don't take full advantage of Wi-Fi 7 despite having a Wi-Fi 7 chip. That limitation has been a disappointment, but the ‌iPhone 16‌ models do support Multi-Link Operation (MLO) for connecting to multiple bands at the same time for faster data transmission and lower latency on supported networks.

Apple certainly could have opted for a Wi-Fi 7 chip without limitations in the M4 Mac models, especially for the more expensive M4 Pro and M4 Max machines, but that didn't happen. Given that people often keep Macs for several years, it is curious that Apple opted not to offer this bit of future proofing in the Mac line. MLO would have been nice to have for gaming applications, streaming, and video conferencing, especially as people upgrade their networks in the coming years.

Customers who plan on purchasing one of the new M4 Macs should know that these machines continue to offer Wi-Fi 6E features and lack the faster speeds and the latency benefits that come with Wi-Fi 7.

Related Roundups: iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac mini
Related Forums: iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac mini

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

t0rqx Avatar
18 weeks ago
Cancelled my preorder
Score: 80 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BabyBoii Avatar
18 weeks ago
I will give $100 to anyone who can notice a difference in wifi speed for 6E vs 7 ?
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cale508 Avatar
18 weeks ago
Typical Apple. You will never know why or how they make some questionable decisions.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
QandnotU Avatar
18 weeks ago
I would have been happy with the inverse, PCs need the bandwidth more than the iPhone.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
18 weeks ago
Gotta save something for the Spring 2025 update!
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lkrupp Avatar
18 weeks ago

Cancelled my preorder
You can't cancel a preorder you never made in the first place.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)