Welcome to 9 to 5 Mac Daily for Wednesday, January 7th, 2026. I'm your host, Chance Miller.

Leading off today, Apple released iPadOS 26.2 and MacOS 26.2 last month, and it turns out the updates were hiding a Wi-Fi improvement.

Apple has updated its platform deployment documentation on its website,

saying that Macs and iPads that support Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, now support up to a 160

megahertz maximum channel bandwidth up from the previous maximum of 80 megahertz. This applies when

your Mac or iPad is connected to a 5

gigahertz Wi-Fi network. That all sounds very technical, but what this means is that if you have

a compatible Wi-Fi network and a supported iPad or Mac, you should notice improvements like

faster Wi-Fi speeds and throughput, particularly for tasks like file transfers and large

uploads and downloads. It essentially brings some of the benefit of having a 6 gigahertz Wi-Fi

network to users who only have a 5-Gahertz Wi-Fi network. Devices from Apple that support Wi-Fi

include recent models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro,

iMac, MacMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini. You can hit the link in

the show notes for a list of all of the supported devices. Next up today, it's been over a year since we

first heard about Apple's plans for a total redesign of the MacBook Pro, and we're expecting to see the results later this year.

While Apple is expected to head further down the path of thinner and sleeker laptops, several PC brands are actually headed in the opposite direction.

The MacBook Pro refresh coming later this

year or in early 2027 is expected to be thinner than the current models, as well as have an

OLED display with a touchscreen for the first time. At CES 2026 this week, however, Dell, HP, and

Lenovo have each announced new laptop designs that make it

easier to repair or replace individual components to help extend the lifespan of the product.

The companies say that this is being done in response to feedback from customers who want to be

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