2023 MacBook Air M2 15”

Gyharada wrote:

Yeah, I understand WiFi 802.11ax however the MacBook Air M2 does not show any 6Ghz channels in the system information. Only 2.4 and 5. Further, my iPad Pro purchased last year is able to connect to 6 GHz.

Apple says that the M2 MacBook Air supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax).

Wi-Fi 6 uses channels in the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands. It does not use channels in the 6 GHz frequency band. Using technology from IEEE 802.11ax in connection with 6 GHz channels is what Wi-Fi 6E is about. And Apple does not claim that the M2 MacBook Air supports Wi-Fi 6E.

https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/so/ReferenceGuide_80211ax.pdf

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/wifi-6-vs-6e

As for the iPad Pro, the specifications for the current iPad Pros (sixth-generation 12.9" and fourth-generation 11" models) mention Wi-Fi 6E. The specifications for the M2 MacBook Airs do not.

The specifications for the 13" and 15" M2 MacBook Airs, and for the 13" M2 MacBook Pro, list support for Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax).

The specifications for the 14" and 16" M2 {Pro/Max} MacBook Pros list support for Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax). There is a footnote saying that the Wi-Fi 6E connectivity is available in countries "where supported."

Both sets of specifications refer to IEEE 802.11ax. That is a technical standard underlying both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) issues, and is the authority for, 802.* standards.

The Wi-Fi Alliance created names like Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E as marketing names.

https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi

"To help users identify devices that provide the latest Wi-Fi experience, Wi-Fi Alliance introduced simplified generational names that may appear in device names and product descriptions."

If you download the Generational Wi-Fi User Guide, you'll find a table in its Introduction. That table says, in part,

"If the most advanced technology a device supports is … 802.11ax … then it shall be identified as generation … Wi-Fi 6 (includes Wi-Fi 6E operation)."

First there was IEEE 802.11ax, and the Wi-Fi 6 marketing name. Then someone came along and decided to create the marketing name Wi-Fi 6E to refer to using IEEE 802.11ax technology, but with additional radio channels.

Apple is simply following industry-standard naming conventions. If you thought "IEEE 802.11ax means Wi-Fi 6E," then you were wrong. It can mean either Wi-Fi 6 (the first to refer to IEEE 802.11ax) or Wi-Fi 6E.

With regards to Apple's Wi-Fi 6E footnote about "where supported", this may be relevant:

https://www.wi-fi.org/countries-enabling-wi-fi-in-6-ghz-wi-fi-6e

It's a list, by country, of spectrum that each country has authorized for use, or is considering authorizing for use. You may also want to read:

Use Wi-Fi 6E networks with Apple devices - Apple Support

Wi-Fi 7 will require support for a new standard (IEEE 802.11be) that the Wi-Fi Alliance site says is in development.

I'm looking on Apple's site to see what they say about the 15" M2 MacBook Air.

The Overview doesn't mention Wi-Fi, except in a a couple of footnotes which don't mention the Wi-Fi version, just the use of a Wi-Fi connection with WPA2 security for browser speed testing. The Tech Specs and Compare pages say that the 15" M2 MacBook Air supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). The Buy pages don't mention Wi-Fi at all.

So where is this sales literature that is wrong? Pointers, please.