In recent years smartphone technology has advanced an at impressive pace as many smartphones come with impressive specification that would have seem a mere dream less than one decade ago.
Internet speed remains an important focus for many customers and the rapid growth of 5G adoption will ensure that they have access to high-speed mobile data while on the go. However, it is also important to have a speedy Wi-Fi connection and a new standard aims to ensure this in the form of Wi-Fi 6.
Fresh and fast
Wi-Fi 6 may be available but it is only offered by a handful of devices, including the iPhone 11 range, iPhone SE and the upcoming iPad Pro. The adoption rate will be considerably higher in 2021, as more smartphone and router manufactures will embrace the new standard.
Qualcomm is one of the biggest supporters of the new standard and the company has announced several Wi-Fi 6E chips that will be offered as a part of the FastConnect brand. The chips which have been designed for routers are already on their way towards the manufactures while the smartphone-grade ones will be released after Q3 this year.
A matter of time
While the new chips will arrive in the hands of smartphone manufacturers this year it is not clear if more smartphones with Wi-Fi 6 support will be released within the same timeframe. Qualcomm has already released its flagship SoCs for 2020 and they rely on the FastConnect 6800 chip, which does not include support for Wi-Fi 6 and 6GHz networks.
Of course, manufacturers have the option to include a compatible chip within their devices but it remains to be seen how many are willing to do is instead of waiting for a new generation of Snapdragon SoCs that come with the feature built-in.
There also other milestones that have to be passed, like the approval to use 6GHz spectrum in several regions.
