Netgear's First Wi-Fi 6 Router Looks Like a Spaceship

This article examines Netgear's First Wi-Fi 6 Router Looks Like a Spaceship. It presents the main facts, practical implications, and key points in a clearer, easier-to-follow format.

Understanding Netgear's First Wi-Fi 6 Router Looks Like a Spaceship

These are two very high-end routers, speeds far beyond what normal Home network routers can do. And what's most striking is that they support the next new Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ax - also known by the new name Wi-Fi 6.

Wi-Fi 6 is not a breakthrough in technology or features that appeal to users but more or less speed will be faster, more importantly, the ability to work with multiple devices on the same network. This is increasingly important for smart home use.

The new routers look like spacecraft because Netgear offers a new design so that the router's antenna is always directed straight up. The antenna is in the wing of the device, the location that Netgear says they have optimized to get the best performance.

Netgear's first Wi-Fi 6

AX8 is inferior to the two Wi-Fi 6 routers, has a 4 x 4 antenna array (one is 5Ghz, one is 2.4Ghz), 5Gigabit Ethernet port, supports 6Ghz total throughput. AX12 is similar but with an 8 x 8-seat 5Ghz antenna array, Netgear said it will be more stable in wide area coverage, faster processing and 5Gb Ethernet port.

Currently there are very few people who can take advantage of this new Wi-Fi network. You have to wait until there's a Wi-Fi 6 ecosystem, from phones, computers, game consoles to every other home appliance.

AX8 sold in November 2018 at a discounted price of $399, AX12 will appear sometime at the end of the first quarter and early the second quarter of 2019 at an unspecified price.