Ultra-fast 802.11ac WiFi may finally hit Macs this year

Despite rumblings this time last year, Apple failed to introduce ultra-high-speed 802.11ac wireless networking in any of its devices in 2012. That looks to change in 2013, however, with The Next Web reporting that the company has reached an agreement with chipmaker Broadcom to roll out Gigabit WiFi in new Macs and other products by the end of 2013.

802.11ac networking supports transmission speeds up to 1.3 Gigabits per second under optimal conditions, using as many as eight antennas (the latest MacBooks have three and top out at 450 Megabits per second). The super-fast standard operates in the 5 GHz range, boasting longer range and improved reliability in addition to, y'know, crazy speed.

Steve Jobs famously introduced WiFi to the masses at Macworld NYC in 1999, when he toted the new iBook G3 across the stage while browsing the web sans wires. It's amazing to think how something we take so for granted now (and are pushing to the extreme, as evidenced by this news) drew such a huge response from the audience back then.