New iMac Joins MacBook Pro in Supporting 450 Mbit/sec Wi-Fi

132857 airport icon

HardMac reports that the new iMac released earlier this week brings support for 450 Mbit/sec Wi-Fi connectivity, adding a third antenna to support the higher speed using multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) standards when connected to a compatible network access point. The iMac joins the latest MacBook Pro in offering the improved connection speeds.

It seems that Apple seeks to standardize this data flow. Thus, the new iMac is also compatible with the 450 Mbits/s. For that, Apple changed their Airport card and also installed 3 antennas (instead of 2 before), something indispensabie to be able simultaneously to use 3 channels of 150 Mbits/s.

In order to take advantage of the increased speeds with compatible base stations such as the latest AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule, users must be sure to set the base station's options to use the 5 GHz band and to allow use of wide channels.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Neutral)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today. Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...

Top Rated Comments

GFLPraxis Avatar
188 months ago
Sorry, but I don't see the point here, considering that 100% of the Internet connections in the world are well under 200Mbps...other than for internal networks (like file transfer between two devices), what's the advantage?
You just said it. Internal networks. Transferring files between multiple computers, streaming 1080p video from your desktop to your laptop...

Especially useful if you do network backups (say to a Time Capsule or NAS) regularly.

I have a gigabit/CAT6 network in the walls of my house. Surely, this is useless since my internet connection is only 40 mbps, right? Not exactly.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cube Avatar
188 months ago
Gotcha...streaming video may be a good use for this extra bandwidth...what is the necessary rate for HD streaming?

The real need for gigabit ethernet shows in back-up.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Full of Win Avatar
188 months ago
Sorry, but I don't see the point here, considering that 100% of the Internet connections in the world are well under 200Mbps...other than for internal networks (like file transfer between two devices), what's the advantage?

All my photos live on a NAS, therefore a speedy WiFi connection is a must. I use a Canon 5d mark II, and the raw files from it are ~30 MB each, which must be loaded on my computer for correction. After a day of shooting, i can have 16 - 20 GB of pictures that have to be uploaded to the NAS over wifi

Anything less than 5Ghz 802.11 n does not cut it for many users.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
r.j.s Avatar
188 months ago
Sorry, but I don't see the point here, considering that 100% of the Internet connections in the world are well under 200Mbps...other than for internal networks (like file transfer between two devices), what's the advantage?

Progress?

Besides, a lot of wireless bandwidth is lost due to interference and overhead ... the more theoretical bandwidth you can get, the better overall real-world performance.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Starship77 Avatar
188 months ago
Thanks! Could you give details on the actual throughput? The link speed is the maximum theoretical throughput which is never achieved. When tested at release it was much slower than a lot of other models - I'm wondering if this dramatically increases transfer speeds?

There is the distinct possibility of no real world improvements - some 3x3 models just released perform no better than the best 2x2 implementations.
I did some tests:

First I copied a file from my TimeMachine drive connected to the APE:



I got a steady 14MB/s, as you can see in the screenshot.

Then I did the same test with the Ethernet Cable connected:



And, of course, it was faster, but not twice as fast as one would expect...

Then, I disabled "wide channels" (necessary for the 450 rate as described in this thread) and my link speed dropped to 216 (I was expecting 300, it must be some kinda noise or interference...)



The interesting thing is that it's not just slower, but much more inconstant than the other two, with speed varying from 6 to 10 MB/s more or less...

I hope that's useful! :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMerik Avatar
188 months ago
Would you take an AirPort Extreme (http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/) over a Cisco E4200 (http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-E4200-Performance-Simultaneous-Wireless-N/dp/B004K1EZDS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1304722833&sr=8-3) or the TRENDnet TEW-692GR (I think yet to be released)?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)