The new MacBook Pro sets one speed record after the other. However, they are slower with one connection: WLAN.
The current MacBook Pro only has two WLAN antennas. Previously, the 15″ and 16″ models always had three antennas and the 13″ models up to 2019 also had three. However, they already lost one antenna with the revision at the end of 2019 and thus reached a maximum of 866 Mbit/s in ac WLAN.
The current M1 models reach 1200 Mbit/s with two antennas thanks to the ax WLAN standard. They are thus just below the older models with three antennas, which can reach a maximum of 1300 Mbit/s according to the ac standard. Apple has used the faster ax standard to save one antenna without losing speed.
You will have to try out how this will affect you in everyday life. If you don’t have an ax router, it might be a bit slower. In our experience, three antennas are better and the data throughput is significantly faster than two – at least if you are in the same room as the router, are as close as possible and have large amounts of data to transfer. Two antennas should also be sufficient for other applications like surfing the Internet, streaming, etc.
Thus, there is one feature in the new MacBook Pro that has evolved but not become faster: the two-antenna ax WLAN.
