Apple’s latest product launches include many new functions and features, most notably, 4K video and photos, more content and further functionality of its personal assistant Siri.
However, these new features all require more of one thing - data.
“For consumers, this means they might just hit their data caps quicker than expected and will be hunting for WiFi at every opportunity,” says Pat Devlin, Managing Director A/NZ, Ruckus Wireless.
“For carriers, it means more data on their networks and a greater need to offload customers onto Wi-Fi.
“Telstra has already future-proofed its network against the data hungry new devices, which are going to need more connectivity with each iteration, by deploying a national WiFi network to help offload customers onto a more data friendly network.”
Devlin believes the new wave of Apple products will bring increasing demand for data, and smart WiFi networks will be key to unlocking their full potential.
“Enterprises are also going to feel the effects, especially if they have a BYOD policy and have to onboard a number of new devices,” Delvin adds.
“Schools and educational institutions in particular will feel the effects in a big way. Apple TV is extremely popular in the education sector. In order to support the new features and take full advantage, schools will require a reliable, high capacity networks.”
However, Devlin says one thing Apple has done to help ensure these devices take full advantage of WiFi networks is include 802.11ac Wave 2 capability in its iPad Pro, iPhone 6S and Apple TV.
“The new enhancements, like multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), of the updated protocol will provide significant benefits in the face of capacity strain caused by these data hungry devices,” he adds.
“Whether it be the latest Apple, Samsung, Sony or Google devices, enterprises need to seriously consider how to best set up their WiFi infrastructure.
“802.11n is on the way out as Wave 2 802.11ac provides serious capacity gains to take full advantage of the capabilities of these new devices, leading to increased productivity, efficiencies and staff satisfaction.”
For carriers, Devlin believes most will be happy to see more data come over their networks.
However, their challenge will be providing a good user experience in high density locations, as well as indoors.
“Wi-Fi is the way forward, especially given Wi-Fi data currently accounts for 83 per cent of total data generated according to Strategy Analytics,” he adds.
“Carriers without a WiFi strategy will be left behind by those that do, as more people look to connect more affordably at higher speeds on a network that has been designed specifically for data connectivity.”