The Wi-Fi 6 router is the industry marketing term for the more obtuse IEEE 802.11ax wireless networking standard. This is the latest generation of wireless routers in the market, with only a handful of devices being available at the moment. The routers are geared towards minimal power consumption, yet offer more speeds than ever before. These routers are made for wireless 4K streaming, AR/VR applications, as well as smart home devices. While the previous generation of Wi-Fi 5 routers supported MU-MIMO capabilities in the downlink direction, the Wi-Fi 6 routers support MU-MIMO functionality in both uplink and downlink directions, boosting throughput and elevating the user experience at the end of the day. The new standard has also been designed to cause less interference in different access points, so you will see a performance improvement in dense apartment complexes with a number of access points in the vicinity. Other tweaks include a significant reduction in latency, as well as an increase in the security provided. Note that considering how new the specification is, none of the routers here complies with all the specifications of the IEEE 802.11ax standard.
The TP-Link Archer AX6000 goes overboard with the connection options, making sure that the user cannot possibly want any more. Apart from the WAN port, there are a staggering 8 Ethernet ports on this router. Additionally, there are Type A and Type C USB ports for direct connectivity to your devices. The excessiveness extends to the antennas as well, with eight of them placed in pairs around the octagonal body. The router is backwards compatible with previous generation communication standards, so your older devices will work perfectly with the device, no problem. There is also in-built security offered by TrendMicro, so even if you do not have an antivirus installed on your device, the router protects them actively. The killer feature really is the ability to connect with Alexa and come up with custom IFTTT routines. The router can be controlled from anywhere using TP-Link’s tether app.
The main feature of this product is just pure, raw speed, which is what most people are looking for in a router. While most of the other routers offer about 6Gbps of speeds, the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 goes all the way up to 11 (hence the name of the model). It is the first product in the world to offer such speeds. The router also looks gorgeous, with eight omnidirectional antennas placed in pairs along the four corners of the squarish device. If you have other ROG devices, this fits right into the ecosystem, with a bunch of features geared towards gamers, including game acceleration and pocket prioritisation for video games. Setting up port forwarding is also simplified, with the users merely having to pick a game. The router also allows users to dedicate a band purely for gaming purposes so that there is no interference in that band by other devices connected to the network in the same household. The router also offers onboard security by TrendMicro.
The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 has an unconventional appearance, with the antennas embedded within two wings that rise up from either side of the main body. Each of the two wings has within it two antennas. The router uses four streams in two bands, which is more than what most others offer in the segment. What this essentially means is that a lot more devices can connect simultaneously to the same router. The router is also one of the few in the market to support WAN port aggregation, which means that you can actually combine two gigabit Ethernet ports. There are also two USB 3.0 Type A ports, which can be used to connect a shared hard drive for the entire family. When it comes to integration with smart home speakers, the Netgear Nighthawk has out of the box support for Amazon Alexa as well as Google Home. The router can also be controlled through the Nighthawk app and comes with a one-year hardware warranty.
This is made for homes with several commercial-grade features, including security. If your house has multiple ethernet points in different rooms, then the router has an inbuilt Ethernet backhaul capability, that allows routers in a satellite mesh to be connected through wires, instead of wireless, further boosting the performance and speeds of the entire setup. This is one of the few products in the market to offer WAN aggregation, where an Ethernet port and a WAN port can be combined for a boost to speed. Similar to the routers from the ROG lineup, this ASUS router offers some of the features meant for gamers as well, including technologies to reduce lag and optimise the gameplay experience. One of the great things about the router is that while most other products with onboard security offer either a one year or three-year coverage plan, the ASUS AX6100 comes with an AiProtection plan that lasts for the lifespan of the device. Like most other devices in the category, the security offered is from TrendMicro.