Netgear's first Wi-Fi 6 routers look like science fiction spaceships

The next generation of Wi-Fi begins to arrive and Netgear launches with its first two routers: Nighthawk AX8 and Nighthawk AX12.

These are two very high-end routers capable of theoretical rates much higher than most home Internet connections can provide. But their real asset lies in supporting the next Wi-Fi standard, the 802.11ax standard, or what has just been dubbed "Wi-Fi 6".

The Wi-Fi 6 does not bring incredible jumps in speed or functions for consumers. But his speeds should be somewhat faster, and more importantly, it's supposed to be more efficient at simultaneously managing a multitude of devices on a network, which is becoming increasingly important as our homes are filled with smart gadgets.

In addition, both routers look like stealth sci-fi fighter planes. In a world of evil spider routers, it is a promising development.

Netgear has developed this new style to ensure that the antennas of its routers remain straight. The antennas are hidden in the wings of the devices, a position that, according to Netgear, optimizes them to get the best performance.

Image: Netgear

The AX8 is the lower end of the two Wi-Fi 6 routers. It has two 4×4 antenna arrays (one for Wi-Fi 5 GHz, one for 2.4 GHz), five gigabit Ethernet ports and supports a total throughput of 6 GHz. The AX12 is very similar, but it includes an 8 x 8 antenna network for its 5 GHz network, which, according to Netgear, offers better long-range stability, as well as a faster processor and a 5Gb Ethernet port.

For the moment, few (if any) people will really be able to take advantage of all this power. In fact, you'd better wait to be part of the Wi-Fi 6 ecosystem: your phone, your computer, your game console and all the rest of your home certainly do not support the new Wi-Fi standard these gains will not help you. You will have to buy all new products in the coming years before support for some of these new technologies arrives.

But if you are eager to intervene or if you like the idea of ​​wiring a high performance LAN, Netgear is one of the first to offer this class of routers. The AX8 will go on sale this month for $ 399. The AX12 will arrive at the end of the first quarter / beginning of the second quarter of 2019, prices being still undetermined.

And even though it's the first major Wi-Fi router 6 to be unveiled after the Wi-Fi 6 brand announcement, this router does not indicate that it supports Wi-Fi 6. on the box. It is still reported 802.11ax (perhaps because Netgear had originally planned to announce this product several months ago, but has been delayed today). A Netgear representative said the company "will use the generational language of the Wi-Fi Alliance," but that implementation will take time.