2023 Smartphones To Get Wifi 7 Support. TP-Link Announces Wifi 7 Routers

[Tech Junky]

I'm more concerned with what the heck people are doing on their phones that needs that kind of throughput

My guess would be gamers that don't have a PC. My op 11 has WiFi 7 but, for me it's more about testing networks rather than the speed itself. I get 600/100 over 5G anyway. The speed of the flash on the phone itself is the limiting factor for file transfers. The ufs filesystem isn't all that fast. Hard to test hardwired though since op uses USB 2 due to high charge rates.

 

[drinkingbird]

My guess would be gamers that don't have a PC. My op 11 has WiFi 7 but, for me it's more about testing networks rather than the speed itself. I get 600/100 over 5G anyway. The speed of the flash on the phone itself is the limiting factor for file transfers. The ufs filesystem isn't all that fast. Hard to test hardwired though since op uses USB 2 due to high charge rates.

I mean really is the phone capable of doing anything at above AC speeds anyway (taking into account processor, flash, the software you're using, the microscopic and power efficient wifi chipset, etc)? I mean if I'm testing raw network throughput, I'm not using my phone, even though I have apps capable of doing it. Unless of course testing cellular throughput, in which case, yeah, gotta use the phone. But that's unrelated to the wifi chipset.

Maybe I'm out of the loop but it seems whatever games you're running on your phone aren't taking anywhere near that bandwidth. Even the most advanced home gaming consoles are only consuming that kind of bandwidth when downloading a new game/updates etc. But hey, I'm not a gamer, so maybe I don't know.

 

[drinkingbird]

My guess would be gamers that don't have a PC. My op 11 has WiFi 7 but, for me it's more about testing networks rather than the speed itself. I get 600/100 over 5G anyway. The speed of the flash on the phone itself is the limiting factor for file transfers. The ufs filesystem isn't all that fast. Hard to test hardwired though since op uses USB 2 due to high charge rates.

Actually I walk back my statement a bit. I still think the additional throughput is of no use, however if you have a phone AND multiple access points that have all properly implemented MLO and the same seamless roaming standard, that could potentially be a nice benefit. Of course, yet to be seen how it actually works widespread in the real world.

 

[Tech Junky]

@drinkingbird

I don't use it for games either and pointed out the drawbacks of a phone as did you. For me it's about being able to use WiFi analyzers for all bands and survey signals. The WiFi 7 is just an add on for the sd8g2 CPU at this point and not in use anywhere.

The difference in the gens of WiFi though reduce battery consumption though as well for those not tethered to a power supply. Then you have the phablets and tablets to contend with that sometimes also have cellular modems on them as well as laptops.

For those with spotty cell coverage WiFi calling is a priority and having a good system to connect to makes a difference in the quality of the sound. For normal people though that don't know anything about the intricacies of WiFi it doesn't make much of a difference to them as long as things work. It doesn't add much cost to the phone itself though as I paid less for the new gen than the op8 I picked up awhile back. Now if you're a sucker and buying Apple or Samsung you're paying considerably more for the name printed on the back. That's why people should shop by spec and not name.

From a network perspective unlocking 320mhz is a considerable leap in speed but, the internals need to increase considerably to make use of the speed when it comes to phones at least.

 

[drinkingbird]

@drinkingbird

I don't use it for games either and pointed out the drawbacks of a phone as did you. For me it's about being able to use WiFi analyzers for all bands and survey signals. The WiFi 7 is just an add on for the sd8g2 CPU at this point and not in use anywhere.

The difference in the gens of WiFi though reduce battery consumption though as well for those not tethered to a power supply. Then you have the phablets and tablets to contend with that sometimes also have cellular modems on them as well as laptops.

For those with spotty cell coverage WiFi calling is a priority and having a good system to connect to makes a difference in the quality of the sound. For normal people though that don't know anything about the intricacies of WiFi it doesn't make much of a difference to them as long as things work. It doesn't add much cost to the phone itself though as I paid less for the new gen than the op8 I picked up awhile back. Now if you're a sucker and buying Apple or Samsung you're paying considerably more for the name printed on the back. That's why people should shop by spec and not name.

From a network perspective unlocking 320mhz is a considerable leap in speed but, the internals need to increase considerably to make use of the speed when it comes to phones at least.

I'm curious how MLO (if implemented) will impact battery life (and 320mhz obvious is going to have an impact too). One of the main reasons wifi saves battery over cellular is that it isn't maintaining a bunch of unused connections to various cell towers and scanning constantly. Lower power needed too obviously.

As you say, I agree that it is more the improvements in various other parts of the technology, rather than the throughput, that really are attractive. Being able to maintain a wifi call or teams meeting etc when roaming between APs is one such thing that has improved significantly and should only keep getting better once we finally have true seamless roaming that works.

Point taken re being able to use analyzer apps on all technologies. Not something I need to do. If I was doing it professionally I'd look at a fluke handheld or something similar but of course that is big $$$.

I remember the days of rolling a cart around with one of the specialized Cisco APs (running off a UPS) and a laptop doing site surveys. Back in the A/B/G days. Now you can just get a bunch of "pucks" and a piece of software that maps out the whole floor and tells you exactly where to put the APs.

 

[Tech Junky]

All depends on budget and convenience. A quick sanity check of the RF environment is usually handy for dealing with things. For more indepth analysis sure a Fluke would be handy. The apps have gotten better as the hw has also in being able to sniff things. Analyzers for 5G are handy as well. Heat maps work well for those C level non techies to visualize things you're talking about though.

 

[sfx2000]

Eh. Is there anything on the market that can support 8 streams, even as an AP device? I think Quantenna had something, for a while Asus was looking at using it in a product, but the project seems to have died.

Qualcomm-Atheros does have a platform that does 8*8:8 - Networking Pro 1610

 

[sfx2000]

I'm more concerned with what the heck people are doing on their phones that needs that kind of throughput

Similar concerns back in the early days of 11ac - it's really about getting as much data over in as short of a period as possible, then let the radio go back to sleep...