Apple Hiring for Wireless 802.11ac System Test Engineers

Adding to existing rumors that Apple is planning to add high speed 802.11ac wireless networking to its lineup later in 2013, AppleBitch notes that Apple has posted a job listing for a System Test Engineer with expertise with 802.11ac network environments.

airportextreme

System Test Engineer - Wi-Fi (802.11)

System Test Engineering is looking for an experienced test engineer with excellent problem solving and communications skills. In this role, you will be testing, automating, leading, and working closely with the entire cross-functional team to ensure quality for Macintosh products.

- Technical knowledge of WiFi (802.11a,b,g, ac) and Ethernet network environments

802.11ac should roughly triple the speeds seen with the current 802.11n standard, supporting up to 450 Mbps on one antenna and up to 1.3 Gbps when used with three antennas as on Apple's latest Macs.

There is no indication of when Apple will begin introducing the new standard into existing products.

Related Forum: Networking

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Top Rated Comments

KnightWRX Avatar
163 months ago
could someone put those speeds in laymen terms? Would an average user notice any different when surfing the web?
Only if your ISP's link is more than the current 802.11n speeds of 150/300/450/600 mbps.

Which it probably isn't.

----------

Surfing the web will probably stay the same. However, downloading and uploading... :eek:
No, downloading and uploading either, unless again, you're one of the few lucky guys to get an Internet connection at more than the 802.11n bandwidth ratings.

This is for home networking improvements. Your ISP is most probably your current bottleneck to the Internet.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
163 months ago
What's all this "Likely" weasel word crap? Name a single ISP who has a commercial line even purely downstream above 150-600mbps. Nobody asking about whether or not it will affect them at home has that kind of connection, so give them the right answer.

The answer is no, this isn't going to improve your Internet experience one bit
I want to make no assumptions about people's internet connection. There is 1 Gbps connections offered by ISPs (Google Fiber) to some limited number of markets.

Of course, if you don't know, you most likely don't have a 1 Gbps connection to the Internet, but again, let's not make assumptions. Likely is not a weasel word, it's simply indicating that the responses applies to the vast majority, but not the totality of users.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blackhand1001 Avatar
163 months ago
I'd like to see what the real speeds end up being cause even with N wireless file transfers are still slower than they would be on fast ethernet (100mbps) and way slower than gigabit. The real rates are never anywhere close to what they say in the specs.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iRCL Avatar
163 months ago
What's all this "Likely" weasel word crap? Name a single ISP who has a commercial line even purely downstream above 150-600mbps. Nobody asking about whether or not it will affect them at home has that kind of connection, so give them the right answer.

The answer is no, this isn't going to improve your Internet experience one bit
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b0fh Avatar
163 months ago
could someone put those speeds in laymen terms? Would an average user notice any difference when surfing the web?
Think of it in terms of pipes :D:D:D

You have one pipe coming in (DLS/Cable/FIOS/whatever). That's usually between 1Mbps to 30Mbps.

Now, inside the house, you have a giant hose, capable of 150/300/450 Mbps and now 1.3 Gbps.

Will your uploads and downloads go any faster? Why? Why not?

However, if you had multiple wireless devices in the house, and assuming they all support the new standard, then where you were not able to wirelessly stream (from your media server inside the house) 1080p under 802.11a/b/g, but you could with 802.11n, now you can stream it to multiple devices...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
163 months ago
YES :) In Layman's terms this will not improve the speed of web browsing, but it will seriously improve Home Sharing (and related uses) when streaming to multiple devices simultaneously and streaming high bit-rate (high quality) and high resolution videos :) please include QoS when this is incorporated into your router product line!

Multiple streams is right. A Blu-ray disc's bitrate is what ? 40 mbps ? 50 mbps ?

This is more for network backups/transfer of large files in your home, basically replacing your Gigabit Ethernet.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)