Job posting suggests that 802.11ac Gigabit WiFi coming to Apple products
Yesterday AppleBitch noted that Apple had posted a job opening looking for a System Test Engineer for WiFi. The company wants a candidate who's knowledgable with all 802.11 standards, including the new 802.11ac standard that triples current 802.11n speeds. The inclusion of an engineer versed in 802.11ac suggests that Apple is actively working with the standard. The original job posting read:
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
However, after a few sites picked up the job posting yesterday, Apple apparently edited the listing to remove the last line (highlighted in bold above). There is, of course, no firm timeline that can be worked out from a single job posting, but it's possible that future Macs and iOS devices -- as well as Airport base stations -- could see 802.11ac updates this year.
