Apple’s newly released iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air are all equipped with Apple’s self-developed N1 chip and support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread connection technology. However, the documentation shows that the chip has bandwidth limitations with Wi-Fi 7.
According to FCC documents, the Wi-Fi 7 channel bandwidth supported by the N1 chip of all new iPhones is up to 160 MHz, which does not reach the upper limit of 320 MHz allowed by the standard. This means that these devices cannot achieve the theoretical peak speed of Wi-Fi 7, but in actual applications, performance is often limited by network service providers and other factors, which has little impact on the vast majority of users.
Even so, Wi-Fi 7 is still very fast. The standard supports simultaneous data transmission in the 2.4GHz, 5GHz and/or 6GHz frequency bands, enabling higher speeds, lower latency and a more stable connection experience as long as a compatible router is equipped.
It is worth noting that, except for the iPhone 16e, all iPhone 16 models also support Wi-Fi 7, with the same bandwidth of 160 MHz, but use Broadcom chips. Previously, the outside world expected Apple's own N1 chip to increase the bandwidth to 320 MHz, but this is not the case.
Although the bandwidth has not changed, Apple said that the N1 chip still brings many improvements to the latest iPhone, such as enhancing the performance and reliability of personal hotspot and airdrop functions, and also improving power consumption management to help improve battery life.