iPhone 7 could include cutting-edge ’LiFi’ technology that is 100 times faster than WiFi

干掉WiFi?iPhone 7 或支持LiFi技术

Apple’s future iPhones could include a cutting-edge technology that is capable of transmitting information at 100 times the speed of WiFi.

未来的苹果手机有可能支持尖端技术LiFi, 其数据传输速率可高达WiFi的100倍。

Developer Chase Fromm made the discovery while browsing a section of code for Apple’s iOS 9.1 update, which began rolling out to iPhone users in October 2015.

Chase Fromm是一个开发者，他在浏览苹果公司2015年10月向用户推出的iOS 9.1 的软件升级代码时无意中发现了有趣的事情。

Buried in the code was a reference to "LiFiCapability", suggesting that future versions of the iPhone will support LiFi - a technology that uses light to transmit data through the air rather than radio waves.

这些代码中有"LiFiCapability (LiFi 兼容)" 字样，这暗示未来的苹果手机或支持LiFi，这项技术用可见光取代无线电波在空气中进行数据的传输。

While traditional Wi-Fi is capable of transmitting data at around 7 gigabits per second (Gbps), tests show that LiFi can transfer information at 100 Gbps, and could theoretically reach speeds of 224Gbps.

传统WiFi网络的传输速率大概为7Gbps，而测试数据表明LiFi的传输速率可达100Gbps，而且理论上可实现224Gbps。

This means that high-definition films could be downloaded to an iPhone over a LiFi connection in a matter of seconds.

这意味着我们用LiFi网络把一部高清电影下载到手机中只需要几秒钟。

Although Fromm suggests that LiFi could feature in the iPhone 7, this is unlikely, given that it is still in the early stages of development. Researchers expect it to be ready for commercial use by the end of the decade.

虽然Fromm猜测iPhone 7 将支持LiFi 技术，但是目前这项技术实现起来还是相当困难的，因为它仍处于发展初期。研究者称该技术有望在2020年前投入商业用途。

The biggest drawback to the technology is that it cannot travel through walls, because it requires a direct line of sight between the transmitter and the user’s device.

这项技术最大的缺点是不能穿透墙壁，因为它要求发射器和用户设备可以通过直线连接。

The device also need to be within a three metre radius of the transmitter to pick up the signal.

另外，设备只有在距离发射器三米的半径范围内才能接收到信号。

Researchers at universities including Strathclyde, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Cambridge are all currently working to make LiFi more practical and accessible to electronics companies like Apple.

目前，斯特拉斯克莱德大学、爱丁堡大学、圣安德鲁斯大学和剑桥大学的研究者们正在研究如何提高LiFi技术的实用性和对苹果等电子产品公司的可接入性。

Light is already used to transmit data across fibre optic networks at high speed. These work by guiding the light along glass tubes so that no information is lost along the way.

光的数据传输已在光纤网络中得以实现，且速率很高。在该项技术中，光在玻璃制成的纤维管中传输，可以避免信息丢失。

However, transmitting information by beaming light through the air is more difficult, because there are no tubes to guide the signal to where it needs to go.

然而，在空气中实现光的数据传输相对困难，因为没有纤维管来控制它的传输方向。