Analyst claims Wi-Fi 7 and UWB will improve for Apple Vision
A pair of Tweets from often uncannily accurate Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will move to Wi-Fi 7 and progress its Ultra Wideband (UWB) in iPhones and Vision Pro.
On a fast track to change
The analyst argues that Apple will “aggressively upgrade hardware specifications to build a more competitive ecosystem for Vision Pro.” By doing so the appeal of the Vision Pro itself will be accentuated, he said.
“iPhone 15 will likely see an specification upgrade of UWB, with the production process moving from 16nm to more advanced 7nm, allowing for improved performance or reduced power consumption for nearby Interactions,” he Tweeted.
The analyst added: “iPhone 16 will likely upgrade to Wi-Fi 7, which will be more conducive to Apple’s integration of hardware products running on the same local network and provide a better ecosystem experience.
What is Wi-Fi 7?
Wi-Fi 7 is the successor to Wi-Fi 6E. The first routers to support the standard are available now. They promise connections up to four times faster, lower latency, and better management of numerous devices. That’s fine, but you also need devices that support the standard. Most manufacturers (including Apple) are only just climbing aboard Wi-Fi 6E, but perhaps this is about to change.
長電科技2H23毛利率/利潤將受益於iPhone 15 UWB製程升級，長期則受益於Chiplet成為AI加速器主流設計方案
1. iPhone 15 UWB製程將自16nm升級至更先進的7nm，長電科技為後段SiP供應商且此升級有助提升利潤。一般而言，若16nm升級至更先進的7nm，後段製程的利潤率可望提升10-20%以上。
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) June 19, 2023
What’s interesting about Wi-Fi 7 is that it will be able to support much higher quality video and gaming content. In addition, it will be fit to handle AR/VR content that requires high throughput and low latency. Given we think Apple has plans to diversify and improve the Vision Pro range, don’t be too surprised to see it accelerate this shift.
The analyst also named current back-end SiP supplier, JCET, as likely to benefit from these changes. But that claim is actually curious to me because Apple supplier Qorvo acquired Decawave, once one of the world’s biggest UWB chip suppliers way back in 2020. Perhaps there are other factors to consider, not least smart SiP systems for AirPods.
長電科技2H23毛利率/利潤將受益於iPhone 15 UWB製程升級，長期則受益於Chiplet成為AI加速器主流設計方案
1. iPhone 15 UWB製程將自16nm升級至更先進的7nm，長電科技為後段SiP供應商且此升級有助提升利潤。一般而言，若16nm升級至更先進的7nm，後段製程的利潤率可望提升10-20%以上。
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) June 19, 2023
Wi-Fi 7 + UWB =????
Put the two things together and you have building blocks I think will enable better mixed reality experiences.
Think about UWB.
Originally developed for commercial radar systems, UWB provides highly accurate spatial awareness, security, and secure data sharing. That’s why you find it used to support AirDrop. That location awareness has evident advantages for Apple’s approach to mixed reality.
Wi-Fi 7, meanwhile, carries huge quantities of data swiftly and with little latency.
Put these together with Vision Pro and you can imagine your other Apple devices linking up to and providing experiences to these systems almost as swiftly as the on-board processors do.
This may hint at how the company plans to reduce the cost of Vision in future. Given we think the company is on course to introduce new versions of its headset in 2025, a move to Wi-Fi 7 and better UWB could be part of that attempt. We’ll wait and see, I suppose.
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