A snippet of code from the latest beta version of OS X Mountain Lion indicates that Apple's upcoming Macs will support the new 802.11ac wireless standard, also called 5G Wi-Fi.
The code, which is present in Mountain Lion 10.8.4 beta but not the previous version, 10.8.3, seems to confirm a previous rumor which claimed Apple has struck a deal with Broadcom to include that company's 5G chips in its computers.
For users, this mean super-fast wireless data transfer (theoretically, speeds go up to 1.3Gbps,) lower power consumption and extended Wi-Fi range.
The 802.11ac standard is still under development, and is expected to become commonplace in 2015. However, Broadcom and other manufacturers have already launched routers that support the standard, and some upcoming cellphones, such as Samsung's Galaxy S4, also support it.
If Apple plans on releasing Mac computers that support the standard, it's reasonable to assume that Apple will also introduce new, 802.11ac-compatible AirPort routers. However, the fact that references to 802.11ac are visible in the Mountain Lion code don't mean that the launch of such devices is imminent — only that it's likely to happen sooner than later.
Image courtesy of Broadcom
