Faster Wi-Fi to bless Windows 11 Ryzen PCs with help from Microsoft's Wi-Fi Dual Station

When AMD launched its Ryzen PRO 6000 series enterprise APUs, it promised faster and more responsive connectivity (image above). These comprise several new features like Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, USB4, and more. In regards to that, earlier today, the company shed more light on its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth offerings in the latest Zen 3+ chips.

AMD announced that it has integrated Qualcomm's FastConnect technology, version 6900 to be precise, in its Ryzen PRO 6000 processors. While FastConnect is present in only the PRO APUs for now, the company does slightly hint that the technology could be heading elsewhere in the future.

The press release says:

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), today announced a collaboration to optimize the Qualcomm® FastConnect™ connectivity system for AMD Ryzen™ processor-based computing platforms, starting with AMD Ryzen™ PRO 6000 Series processors and the Qualcomm® FastConnect™ 6900.

Qualcomm's FastConnect 6900 enables Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3.6 Gbps. This is a 50% improvement compared to the previous MediaTek RZ600 Series modules. While both the new Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 and earlier MediaTek modules are based on Wi-Fi 6E, the former features four-stream Dual Band Simultaneous (DBS) which basically means it can run both 2.4GHz and 5GHz/6GHz bands at the same time.

DBS is leveraged by Microsoft's new Wi-Fi Dual Station which is a native Windows 11 capability that promises faster and low-latency internet connectivity. In terms of support, Wi-Fi Dual Station is already supported by Valve's Steamworks SDK. The release notes that:

In collaboration with Microsoft, next-generation Windows 11 PCs, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad Z Series and HP EliteBook 805 Series, can harness the full potential of Windows 11 Wi-Fi Dual Station through Qualcomm® 4-Stream Dual Band Simultaneous. Multiple Wi-Fi bands outperform traditional single band connections for improved video conferencing experiences, reduced latency, and enhanced connection robustness. Leveraging the 6 GHz band, next-gen laptop users can take full advantage of its bandwidth and speed improvements without competing with any non-6E devices.

The image below summarizes all the new features that FastConnect 6900 brings to Ryzen 6000 PRO APUs: