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iPad's got 2 WiFi antennas and iPad 3G is larger

T

ThatsMeRight

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 12, 2009
2,393
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Both iPad models (WiFi only and WiFi + 3G) have two WiFi antennas! Thanks to our friends over at the FCC we now know the iPad has got two WiFi antennas.

It's not like the iPad will use both antennas at the same time: the iPad will just choose the one with the best reception. Another nice thing about this is that if one fails, you will still have a WiFi connection.

Also, the iPad 3G is 0,3 milimetre higher and 0,1 milimetre wider than the WiFi-only model. The extra space is assumably needed because of the GPS chip and the 3G chip. The digital compass is included in both the WiFi-only and WiFi+3G models. It can also just be the plastic sticking out.
 
aaquib said:
Does this mean that browsing on the iPad will be more like my Mac and less like my iPhone (in terms of speed)?
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Well. The iPad will check how the reception is, and it chooses the best chip with the best reception. This means you will have a better, steady connection. These WiFi chips also supports 802.11n which is kinda the fastest WiFi speed (your router should also support 802.11n). And yes, it's definetly faster than your iPhone (since the iPhone doesn't support 802.11n).
 
ThatsMeRight said:
Also, the iPad 3G is 0,3 milimetre higher and 0,1 milimetre wider than the WiFi-only model. The extra space is needed because of the GPS chip and the 3G chip. The digital compass is included in both the WiFi-only and WiFi+3G models.
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Hard to believe. Do you know how small 0.1mm is? It's probably nothing more than the plastic top moulding being infinitessimally larger than the alumin(i)um version.
 
skunk said:
Hard to believe. Do you know how small 0.1mm is? It's probably nothing more than the plastic top moulding being infinitessimally larger than the alumin(i)um version.
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It's just what the FCC reports say.
 
It has two antenna because it is in fact "N" wifi, which uses more than one at a time.

See this article for comparison of N to A, B and G.

"802.11n

The newest IEEE standard in the Wi-Fi category is 802.11n. It was designed to improve on 802.11g in the amount of bandwidth supported by utilizing multiple wireless signals and antennas (called MIMO technology) instead of one."
 
does it support 5GHz 'n'? I have my TC set to 5GHz n for my MBP, and my ADSL modem is set to 2.4GHz 'g' for other devices.

if iPad doesn't support 5GHz I'd have to drop down to 'g'.
 
hopefully this means the ipad wifi will stay connected during sleep. on both my iphone and ipod touch, wifi disconnects when the screen is on standby. on the iphone, data still filters through since its connected to 3g, but the ipod touch does not get any new data until the screen is turned on.

this effects chat apps on the touch greatly since no im's come through until you turn the screen back on and it connects to the wifi network.
 
bidwalj said:
hopefully this means the ipad wifi will stay connected during sleep. on both my iphone and ipod touch, wifi disconnects when the screen is on standby. on the iphone, data still filters through since its connected to 3g, but the ipod touch does not get any new data until the screen is turned on.

this effects chat apps on the touch greatly since no im's come through until you turn the screen back on and it connects to the wifi network.
Click to expand...

The iPod will fetch your email based on the intervals you set.
 
bidwalj said:
hopefully this means the ipad wifi will stay connected during sleep. on both my iphone and ipod touch, wifi disconnects when the screen is on standby. on the iphone, data still filters through since its connected to 3g, but the ipod touch does not get any new data until the screen is turned on.

this effects chat apps on the touch greatly since no im's come through until you turn the screen back on and it connects to the wifi network.
Click to expand...

I think some apps, like the iTunes remote application, will let the wifi connection stay connected as long as the iPod/iPhone is in range and you're connected.

It'd be interesting to see how the 3g radio responds to power-saving when the device's screen is off.
 
does it support 5GHz 'n'? I have my TC set to 5GHz n for my MBP, and my ADSL modem is set to 2.4GHz 'g' for other devices.

if iPad doesn't support 5GHz I'd have to drop down to 'g'.
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IIRC the 5GHz mode is 802.11n, so yes it should.
 
MythicFrost said:
IIRC the 5GHz mode is 802.11n, so yes it should.
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5GHz connection is an entirely diffrent standard from 802.11n.
It is called 802.11a. I still would have to assume that this standard is supported though. Anything else would be plain stupid.
 
esserdk said:
5GHz connection is an entirely diffrent standard from 802.11n.
It is called 802.11a. I still would have to assume that this standard is supported though. Anything else would be plain stupid.
Click to expand...

I would suggest that you brush up on your 802.11n specs.
 
esserdk said:
5GHz connection is an entirely diffrent standard from 802.11n.
It is called 802.11a. I still would have to assume that this standard is supported though. Anything else would be plain stupid.
Click to expand...

Both 802.11a and 802.11n can use the 5GHz band (and the iPad supports it, based on the FCC test docs).
 
im lost :|

802...????ABCDEFGHIJK!!!

can someone dumb it down just for me :)
im very interested in maximizing my iPad Speed
 
The 5GHz band is the reason why I bought a simultaneous dual-band Airport Extreme from Apple. I knew that my Macs could support 802.11n 5GHz so since the 2.4ghz in my building is clogged with wifi networks, I decided to go this route. And boy, it's a dream. I can't wait to connect my iPad to this network.

Alas, I'll be waiting for the 3G iPad anyhow though.
 
4G for iPad

My plan is to use the Sprint 4G Overdrive palm sized WiFi router with the WiFi only iPad. When I tested it with the MacBook Pro, the download speed was 3 times faster than 3G. Ditto for the Google Nexus One and Verizon Droid phones. However, for some reason, the iPhone 3GS downloads were slower than 3G when used with the Overdrive.

So my hope is that the iPad performs like the MacBook Pro rather than the iPhone when used with the Overdrive.

Assuming it works well, since we are a two iPad family, the per unit cost per month for the unlimited 4G connection will be the same as the AT&T 3G. The only downside will be the requirement for a contract.
 
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