Intel will discontinue WiGig laptop docks

It looks as if Intel's idea of a wireless docking station for laptops was a bit short-lived. The company recently announced that it will discontinue its WiGig laptop docks and as of September 29 will no longer take orders, and as of December 29 will no longer make shipments.

This came as a surprise for many, especially given that laptops are becoming thinner, and easing out as many ports and slots as possible. The WiGig wireless docking station came with five USB ports, a landline, HDMI and DP ports. It had up to 4.7Gbps of bidirectional bandwidth and had cost roughly $300.

The discontinuation of the 60GHz 802.11ad AKA WiGig means the end to the dream of multi-gigabit Wi-Fi in your laptop, at least for the time being.

This isn't the end for Intel's wireless docking efforts, though. The company said it will focus more on VR which makes sense, given how much bandwidth VR needs and how important it is to be tether-free.

This also isn't the end for faster Wi-Fi. The industry has its eyes fixed on 802.11ax, which should allow for more throughput, compared to 802.11ac Wi-Fi. It should also be able to handle crowded airwaves better.

If you're sad to see WiGig go, you might want to consider alternatives. There's a HTC Vive 60GHz wireless adaptor from TPCast, for example.

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