iPhones could run on home broadband 100 times faster than wifi, code reveals

APPLE is testing compatibility with Li-Fi, a new wireless technology with speeds more than 100 times faster than Wi-Fi.

 

Apple is believed to be experimenting with the new home broadband technology

 

Apple is looking into making its iPhones compatible with Li-Fi, new code has revealed.

The new wireless technology was invented by Harald Haas, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh, back in 2011.

The cutting-edge technology was tested in a number of real-world trials in Estonia last year, where speeds of over 1GB per second were recorded – around 100 times faster than current home wifi speeds.

And that has clearly piqued the interest of the world’s most valuable technology company.

According to code buried within iOS 9.1, Apple is looking into making its iPhone range compatible with the futuristic wireless technology.

The news comes after Apple this month rolled out a beta for iOS 9.3, which includes a dedicated Night Mode to help smartphone owners sleep at night.

 

Boston University have illustrated how the light-based internet is disseminated around the home

It’s unclear whether how Apple will use the Li-Fi technology in its products.

Since the infrastructure for Li-Fi is not currently in-place, Apple could adapt the technology for its own uses – speeding up data transfers between its products in an improved version of AirDrop.

Apple filed for a technology patent in 2013 that described an "optical modulation using an image sensor" that could receive transmitted data using the rear camera.

“It would be desirable to provide a camera in a mobile device that can receive information transmitted by a light,” the US patent describes.

 

Li-Fi uses the light spectrum to transmit data, which its inventor claims makes it safer and more reliable than traditional wifi connections.

The technology uses Visible Light Communication (VLC), which basically works like an incredibly advanced form of Morse code.

The light it produces is so fast that it can't be seen by the naked eye.

 

Unfortunately this new technology probably won't be heading to your home anytime soon.

Our homes, offices, and coffee shops have already been fitted with infrastructure to provide wifi and ripping all of this out to replace it with Li-Fi technology isn’t particularly cost effective.

The devices we use would also have to Li-Fi enabled and until it becomes more mainstream we're guessing tech companies will be sticking firmly with Wi-Fi for awhile yet.