about the new ultra-fast Wi-Fi standard
Just as mobile network technologies have made great strides in recent years, wireless connectivity technologies have also experienced dazzling advances. So, although there is little need to use it, WiFi 6 has already been replaced today by a new standard: WiFi 6E. But what does this new wireless standard actually mean? What are the differences with WiFi 6? Which devices are already compatible?
So what is WiFi 6E?
Simply put, WiFi 6E (or WiFi 6 Extended) is the latest standard in wireless connectivity to date. Available in Europe from March 2022, it succeeds WiFi 6, which is an improvement over previous standards.
To this end, it should be noted that the nomenclature used to define WiFi standards has changed in recent years. This explains why you’ve never heard of WiFi 5 or WiFi 4, which in reality correspond to WiFi 802.11ac and WiFi 802.11 n, respectively.
Specifically, WiFi 6E uses the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. This allows it to offer connection speeds of up to 11 Gb/s.
WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E: what are the differences?
There are more similarities than differences between the WiFi 6E and its predecessor.
As the name suggests, both standards indeed same generation WiFi (6th). Therefore, they mostly use the same basic frequency ranges: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. The improvements made by WiFi 6E are therefore essentially about extending the spectrum 6 GHz band.
The latter, which has not yet been used, moreover, twice as wide as other frequency bands.
Specifically, this makes it possible to go from a maximum theoretical speed of 10 Gb/s with WiFi 6 to 11 Gb/s. low latency. The opening of the new frequency range is also more efficient support and better handling of multiple simultaneous connectionsespecially in public places.
For the rest, WiFi 6E has all the other advantages provided by the previous standard, including, in particular optimal autonomy of the devices that use it. This is possible thanks to technology Target Wake Time (TWT) It supplies WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E compatible routers. This allows them to intelligently manage standby activation, leading to significant energy savings.
Which WiFi 6E compatible devices are available?
Currently, most mobile devices, PCs and tablets are compatible with the WiFi 6 standard. On the other hand, for WiFi 6E, things are a little different.
Among smartphones, only the latest models allow you to use the latest WiFi standard, but not all. Most manufacturers reserve this privilege for their high-end models.
In this race for WiFi 6E, Samsung has a slight edge over its rivals. In addition to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is one of the first to benefit from this development, several more recent models of the brand are also on the page: Galaxy S22 Plus, Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 4 especially.
Between competitions, Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Proas well as Xiaomi Mi 11 and Xiaomi 12 Pro also benefits from this compatibility. Also note good progress in this area, Asus, with several models: Asus ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro, Asus ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Proas well as the Asus Zenfone 9.
On the other hand, Apple still lags behind in this regard. The latest models of the Apple brand are still limited to WiFi 6.
on the side internet operators, All but SFR offer a WiFi 6E compliant box. To overcome this drawback, or if you want to get rid of the ISP box on this plan, you can buy a suitable WiFi router or WiFi Mesh kit.
