Our forecast for both Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 is quite bullish. We expect the switchover towards 6 GHz-based Wi-Fi infrastructure to be more rapid than previous upgrade cycles. Part of our thinking has been that important, high-volume devices like smartphones will incorporate Wi-Fi 6E capabilities. Today, at Apple’s September 12, 2023 product introduction event, it announced the iPhone 15 Pro, which incorporates Wi-Fi 6E capabilities. Our bullish 6E/7 forecast had assumed that some of the devices that would be announced today would include 6E, and that’s what we got with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro MAX.
Apple’s introduction of Wi-Fi 6E to its higher-end iPhones implies that enterprises will now take the introduction of 6 GHz-based Wi-Fi infrastructure more seriously. We see today’s event as an important validation that 6 GHz Wi-Fi will now be in demand for enterprises. One might argue that since Apple’s entire product line does not include 6E, it will dissuade enterprises from upgrading; we don’t see it that way. Even if some of the products include 6E, that’s enough. Those users will expect better performance when they bring their devices to work, or in the case of where businesses buy these devices for employees to use on their premises, they, too, will expect better performance.