Faster Wi-Fi to be available in smartphones and laptops next year

Wi-Fi is about to get much, much faster.


The Wi-Fi Alliance is now beginning to certify smartphones, laptops, routers, and other devices that include a super-fast Wi-Fi standard called WiGig, which nearly doubles Wi-Fi’s current top speed. The Alliance says it’ll be in “marquee” smartphones and laptops next year, the Verge reports.

WiGig only works over a short range — about 33 feet (or 10 meters), according to the Wi-Fi Alliance. That means even once you get a router and a phone or laptop that support it, you’ll probably only get those speeds within the room the router is located in. “We talk about it as an in-room technology,” said Kevin Robinson, who is VP of marketing at the Wi-Fi Alliance.