Wi-Fi 6 is the newest generation of the wireless standard with improved performance and a new name. The network companies are excited for the new standard as Cisco announced new network hardware support.
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What is new in Wi-Fi 6?
First of all Wi-Fi Alliance has changed the names of standards for user-friendly names like Wi-Fi 6. It is the upcoming standard also known as “ax”.
Wi-Fi 5 can support a maximum speed of 1.3 gigabits per second in contrast Wi-Fi 6 will offer speed up to 10 gigabits per second which translate to 1.25 GB per second.
This standard also improves the transfer speed on 2.4GHz bands. It should be noted the 2.4 GHz band is still used in some cases because it is capable to penetrate through solid objects.
The new standard is 40 % times faster when compared to Wi-Fi 5. The new Wi-Fi 6 standard also brings some major enhancement like very low latency time which is clocked under 1 millisecond.
One of the major improvement is the inclusion of target wake time feature which results in lower power consumption. This lower power consumption will result in better battery life on smartphones.
Why do we need the Wi-Fi 6?
The new standard will offer better speeds in congested areas. It will enable faster data transfer which might realize the future of 8K streaming in the future.
The lower latency would definitely help while using game streaming services like Google Stadia and we might see better wireless VR headsets in the future.
Wi-Fi 6 vs. 5G
Wi-Fi 6 and 5G are complementary technologies. Since both use similar radion signal encoding methods for improved data transfer through the air.
5G is touted to offer speeds up to 1.4 gigabits per second which is quite close to the Wi-Fi 6 1.4 gigabits per second.
Availability
Wi-Fi Alliance announced that it will start certifying the network devices in Q3 of 2019. However, the availability of network hardware solely depends on the manufactures.
