macOS 26.2 update enables 160MHz channels on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks

4 months ago

Apple enabled 160MHz channel bandwidth support on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks via macOS Tahoe 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2.
This update allows recent Macs and iPads to achieve higher throughput on 5GHz networks.
Wi-Fi 6E-compatible devices (since 2022) benefit from this improvement, including M2 iPad Pro, M3 iPad Air, and M3/M4 Macs.
The speed boost is noticeable for large file transfers or Time Machine backups, depending on network conditions.
iPhone 17's Wi-Fi 7 is limited to 160MHz channels, unlike the 320MHz required for full Wi-Fi 7 speeds.

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