WI-FI 6 ROUTERS
All the big router manufacturers have Wi-Fi 6 routers available already, or are due to launch them imminently. For example, Asus’s RT-AX88U is the company’s first Wi-Fi 6 router. It’s dual-band and offers up to 6,000Mb/s of Wi-Fi throughput, along with four antennas, and eight LAN ports. It costs $525.
Asus also has the gaming-oriented ROG Rapture GT-AX11000, a tri-band router that can keep one 5GHz band dedicated to gaming, and costs $750. There’s also the Asus AiMesh AX6100 Wi-Fi System, which is a mesh Wi-Fi system that can cover the whole home. It should launch around the time you read this issue.
As one of the biggest names in networking, it’s no surprise that Netgear is going all-out on Wi-Fi 6, and the company has a number of Wi-Fi 6 routers already available. The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) offers eight streams of wireless connectivity, 160MHz channel support, and 6,000Mb/s throughput over two bands. It also looks like something you’d expect a Sith to fly around in. It’s available now for around $500.
The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 (RAX120) ups the ante with 12 Wi-Fi streams, plus Alexa and Google Assistant support, and Netgear claims it’s the most powerful router the company has ever produced. It is also available now for around $750.
Netgear is also updating its excellent Orbi mesh Wi-Fi system to support Wi-Fi 6, which the company claims will offer gigabit speeds across the entire mesh network, with the ability to handle 12 streams at once, along with MU-MIMO and OFDMA support.
D-Link was early to the Wi-Fi 6 game, launching a number of devices back in 2018. It’s also got a new Wi-Fi 6 router, the D-Link DIR-X6060, which is due to launch some time in 2019.
TP-Link has a few Wi-Fi 6 routers, too, including the Archer AX6000 (available now for $450), Archer AX11000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Gaming Router (available in Australia late 2019), and the Deco X10 Mesh Wi-Fi System, which is also due to launch late 2019.