CableLabs: DOCSIS 3.1 Slightly Ahead of Schedule → fast sync

I don't think faster sync is something that tablets or other portable devices are up to..
let's not forget that the throughputs of these devices aren't exactly that of PCs yet.. it still takes several minutes transferring over speeds that are STILL somewhat under USB 2.0 speeds.. let alone usb 3.0/3.1 speeds.

Depends on the device.

My iPad can hit maybe 50 Mbps over WiFi.

My Nexus 5? Around 200 Mbps. Probably a little lower on the upload side, but still plenty.

It might surprise you what single-antenna, single-stream 802.11ac (which is in most new phones on the higher end) can do.

Yep. ac wifi is just the beginning. belive the "theoretical max" is somewhere around 450-600 mbpsish on 2.4 ghz of course. 1.3 gbps on 5.0 ghz.

Cut theoretical max in half for top real-world performance. And mobile devices are generally 1x1 11ac, so 433 Mbps is the theoretical max. Not that you particularly need more than 200 Mbps to a phone, but that's the math.

On the other hand, think about a large population household simultaneously making use of high speed internet. Will ac cut it?

of course not, but by then we'll probably have the next generation of wifi.

Look how far we've progressed in the last 10 years. from B (11 mbps) to G (54 mbps) to now AC

Yeah, I have ac router on Google Fiber and even though ac devices show 800 link rate, they get about 400. I think 2 x2 MIMO devices.