At IFA 2019 in Berlin, Germany, Asus announced its ZenWiFi mesh router, which features next-gen Wi-Fi 6 technology for faster and more stable wireless internet around your home.
The ZenWiFi XT8 kit will come with two Asus AX6600 tri-band routers, which will use Wi-Fi 6 for both the backhaul and fronthaul connection. What that means is that the two routers, like the best mesh Wi-Fi routers, can be placed in separate parts of your home, and will use the ultra-fast connection to speak to each other and effectively create one large Wi-Fi network that can cover your entire property.
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Thanks to the new Wi-Fi 6 technology, the ZenWiFi offers a total data rate of up to 6,600Mbps, and a combination of OFDMA and MU-MIMO tech, which is part of the Wi-Fi 6 standard, means the router can offer up to four times the network capacity and over twice the transmission speeds compared to Wi-Fi 5 (also known as 802.11ac).
As Wi-Fi 6 is backwards compatible, all your existing Wi-Fi devices will be able to connect to the network without any issue, and if you have a Wi-Fi 6 device – like the Samsung Galaxy S10 – then you’ll get all the benefits of the new technology.
Other features
The ZenWiFi mesh router kit also features AiProtection Pro powered by Trend Micro, which is aimed at protecting your connected devices from online threats, as well as parental controls and management features that are accessed via a smartphone app.
Asus also announced that it's releasing a Wi-Fi 5 version – the ZenWiFi CT8 – which comes with two Asus AC3000 tri-band routers for a lower price, and aimed at people who don’t feel the need to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 just yet.
The ZenWiFi routers will be released at the end of 2019, though we don’t have official prices for them just yet.
You might also want to check out the Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8) review
IFA 2019 is Europe's biggest tech show, and the TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new TVs, laptops, wearables and other products as they're announced.
