A new gigabit-speed version of WiFi isn't set to be fully ratified by the WiFi Alliance and IEEE until the end of 2012, but Apple may still be working to support the standard across its product line this year. The faster WiFi standard, known as 802.11ac, is already supported by chipsets from Broadcom, which supplies the WiFi chips used in most Apple products.

802.11ac operates exclusively on the 5GHz spectrum, using 80MHz or wider channels and more efficient modulation techniques to achieve data throughput three times or more faster than 802.11n. Broadcom introduced chips at CES that can use three antennas to transfer data as fast as 1.3Gbps while being as much as six times more power efficient than existing 802.11n chips. Such chips are also backwards compatible with 802.11n and other existing WiFi standards.

According to AppleInsider, Apple is expected to "rapidly deploy" the standard in its base stations and notebooks later this year. The suggestion is at least somewhat reasonable: Broadcom expects products using its new chipsets to begin shipping to consumers in the second half of this year, and Apple has been known in the past to quickly adopt new wireless standards, including 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0.

Whether or not the improvements indeed make it in to Apple's mobile products remains to be seen, of course. The iPhone and iPod touch both support 802.11n, but only on the 2.4GHz spectrum, not the faster 5GHz spectrum. The iPad, with its much larger battery capacity and room for extra antennas, does support 5GHz spectrum. The power efficiency of the newer 802.11ac chipsets may make 5GHz WiFi a viable option on newer iPhones, though antenna design could still be a limiting factor.