Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup sports an enhanced hotspot mode that supports 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity.
According to MacRumors, the Phone 12 will let users tether to other devices using 5GHz Wi-Fi, rather than 2.4GHz, for a big Personal Hotspot speed boost.
As with previous cellular Apple devices, the iPhone 12 will allow users to connect a Wi-Fi-enabled device like a laptop or tablet to the internet using an iPhone’s cellular signal and data. Previously, this connection was only supported through 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. However, with iPhone 12, this has been upgraded to 5GHz.
Personal Hotspot over 5GHz WiFi is enabled by default on all iPhone 12 models. Users can toggle the feature on or off via the new “Maximize Compatibility” toggle in the “Settings” -> “Personal Hotspot” menu.
When turned on, all WiFi-capable devices can connect to the Personal Hotspot but will use the slower 2.4GHz signal. When turned off, only 5GHz WiFi-capable devices can connect but will benefit from improved performance.
While 5GHz WiFi is faster than 2.4GHz WiFi, but it has a shorter range, so Personal Hotspot speeds will vary greatly, depending on the distance a tethered device is from the source iPhone.
