Over the last couple of years, our homes have been filled with both small and large devices all connected to a Wi-Fi network. Each device requires your router’s time and bandwidth, and this is increasingly becoming problematic. The more devices are connected to your Wi-Fi network, the more your router’s capability is spread thin. Luckily, Wi-Fi 6 is set to solve this problem by making data delivery more efficient thus offering faster speeds. Wi-Fi 6 comes with speed increases of up to 9.6 Gbps from a theoretical maximum of 3.5 Gbps on Wi-Fi 5. However, the extra bandwidth is about allowing routers to scale across the multitude of devices instead of delivering an incredible burst of speed for one device.

At CES 2020, the new Wi-Fi standard finally felt like a reality with Wi-Fi 6 devices and routers available in plentiful on the show floor. What is even more fascinating is the fact that some of the routers were affordable. The biggest lead forward regarding Wi-Fi 6 came from affordable Wi-Fi routers. Last year, there were many promises of routers coming soon. Unfortunately,they fetched a huge price at some points when they finally showed up in stores. Even though these new routers are not necessarily better than last year, they still offer a meaningful improvement when compared to the cheaper models they are replacing.

During this year’s show, Netgear introduced the Nighthawk Mesh, which is the first Mesh router from a trusted brand to bring Wi-Fi 6 to a typical price point. A two pack of the routers is available for $230 and are expected to work perfectly with internet connections up to 400 Mbps. We are also witnessing the Wi-Fi showing up in more routers across the board including in D-Link, Arris and TP-Link.  To make it even better, Wi-Fi 6 is finally in actual gadgets we are purchasing. One such gadget is the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro that have sold millions since their launch in September. Lenovo, Samsung and Asus have also announced new laptops with Wi-Fi 6 on board.