WI-FI 6 IS ROLLING OUT
But Wi-Fi 6 routers can be pricey, so it’s better to wait until more capable devices enter the market
Wi-Fi’s next generation promises big improvements in how multiple devices are handled.
While 5G is getting all the buzz as the next wave of wireless connectivity, there’s another technology that’s worth your attention. The next generation of WiFi is beginning to roll out, and it promises big improvements in the way multiple devices are handled on crowded wireless home and business networks.
Wi-Fi 6 is the marketing name given to what’s technically known as 802.11ax. Chances are the Wi-Fi router in your home is using 802.11ac (now called Wi-Fi 5). If you’re still using older equipment, it might be 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4). Although Wi-Fi 6 isn’t prevalent today, it’s starting to show up in newer routers and some devices. The latest Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy smartphones, for example, now support WiFi 6.
That’s because Wi-Fi 6’s improvements are aimed at better managing the increasing number of devices on most home networks. Smartphones, computers, streaming TV boxes, game consoles and smart-home components are all competing for bandwidth on home networks, and Wi-Fi 6 routers do a better job of playing traffic cop — particularly when the devices they’re talking to are Wi-Fi 6-compatible.
As with all updates to the Wi-Fi standard, this one is substantially faster than its predecessor. Theoretically, it supports downloads of up to 10 gigabits a second. You’re not likely to see that in real life, given that the average broadband download speed in the United States is around 125 Mbps, according to Ookla, a provider of internet performance metrics. But the point of Wi-Fi 6 is to better share an internet connection on a network. There are two technologies at the core of this capability:
• MU-MIMO (Multiuser, Multiple Input,
Multiple Output). This allows a Wi-Fi 6 router to better transmit and receive data to and from multiple devices. MU-MIMO has been around since Wi-Fi 5, but with 6 it gets an upgrade.
• OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). OFDMA is a feature that manages multiple transmissions at once, similar to two phones being able to communicate over a single phone line. It does this by subdividing the wireless channel being used.
Mark Vena, a senior analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, told me he’s been testing Wi-Fi 6 using a pair of Netgear Nighthawk AX12 routers. (Netgear is one of his clients.) One is connected to his internet connection, the other to his PC in bridge mode, so it acts as a receiver. So far, he’s been impressed.
“The big thing is the latency, or lack of it,” Vena said. “When I start up a video, it just snaps to attention. I’m salivating at the prospect of getting all my devices on Wi-Fi 6.”
But this doesn’t mean you should run right out and buy a new Wi-Fi 6 router. At the moment, quality models run around $300-$450, which is about twice as much as you’re likely to pay a year from now. And their benefits won’t become readily apparent until you have multiple Wi-Fi 6-capable devices to connect to them.
The models that Vena is using are among the most expensive available. Amazon sells the Nighthawk AX12 for a jaw-dropping $600 (at this writing, Best Buy has it for $500).
Vena said that while buying a Wi-Fi 6 router isn’t advised for most folks right now, anyone looking to upgrade a smartphone, tablet or computer should definitely make sure it works with Wi-Fi 6. There are a growing number of Windows-based PCs that support it, he said, but for now Mac users are out of luck.
“I would tell a friend not to buy any type of client device unless it had Wi-Fi 6 in it,” he said.
He added that he was surprised that Google, during its product launch event earlier this month, introduced a new version of its mesh networking router — designed to provide Wi-Fi coverage over wide areas — but didn’t offer a model that supports Wi-Fi 6. The same is true of Amazon’s competing Eero line, which also just got a refresh but doesn’t use Wi-Fi 6.
Eventually, there will be routers that take a 5G signal as the internet connection and use Wi-Fi 6 to connect household devices, Vena said. Verizon is already doing this with its 5G Home broadband service, though it’s not yet using Wi-Fi 6 routers. There will be more players in that arena soon, he said, and that’s a future worth waiting for.
( This story originally ran in Dwight Silverman’s Release Notes tech newsletter. Sign up at houstonchronicle.com/ releasenotes.)