IEEE 802.11

IEEE 802.11 is a set of wireless local area network (WLAN) specifications standardized by the. It is the foundation of Wi-Fi technology implemented by Apple under the AirPort brand.

802.11a
A radio-based LAN protocol which speaks at 5GHz, one of the two wi-fi protocols at the time.

802.11b
An IEEE wireless local area network protocol which speaks at 2.4GHz. 802.11b is one of the two wi-fi protocols. It operates at 11 megabits per second (Mbps). It was introduced by Apple Computer in the original AirPort card for the iBook G3 in 1999.

802.11g
An IEEE wireless local area network protocol that was expected to be approved in June 2003. 802.11g offers wireless transmission over relatively short distances at up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps). 802.11g operates in the 2.4GHz range and is backwards compatible with 802.11b (11 Mbps Wi-Fi). It was adopted by Apple in the original AirPort Extreme and Express in June 2004.



802.11n
802.11n offers speeds of up to 450 Mbps 2.4 or 5GHz frequencies. It was first adopted in draft form by Apple in the 1st-generation AirPort Extreme 802.11n in January 2007.



802.11ac
802.11ac, retroactively branded as "Wi-Fi 5", specifies up to 3 simultaneous streams of 450 Mbps each in the 5GHz range, offering a potential maximum of 1.3 Gbps. It was first adopted in draft form by Apple in the AirPort Extreme 802.11ac in June 2013.

802.11ax
802.11ax, branded as "Wi-Fi 6", offers speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps at 2.4 or 5GHz frequencies with improved efficiency in crowded environments. It was introduced in draft form by Apple in the iPhone 11 series in September 2019. In April 2020, the (FCC) voted unanimously to open up the 6GHz band for public use, quadrupling the potential ammount of bandwidth, branded as "Wi-Fi 6E". However, new routers will be required to support the new frequencies.

Device support
All current Apple devices support up to 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) protocols. Devices that support 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) include:


 * iPad Air (4th generation) and later (since October 2020)
 * iPad mini (6th generation) and later (since September 2021)
 * iPad Pro (4th generation) and later (since March 2020)
 * iPhone 11 series and later (since September 2019)
 * MacBook Air (M1) and later (since November 2020)
 * MacBook Pro (M1) and later (since November 2020)
 * Mac Mini (M1) and later (since November 2020)

In October 2022, the 6th-generation iPad Pro became the first Apple device to support Wi-Fi 6E.