ASUS today announced that its RT-AX88U router is now available for $350. The router is one of the first on the market to support Wi-Fi 6, otherwise known as 802.11ax, the successor to the current 802.11ac standard.
The Wi-Fi 6 standard comes with a number of benefits, but the biggest relate to an increase in speed and optimizations for handling a large number of connected devices through one access point. The router also implements tech that separates data channels into subchannels, allowing for "up to 80 percent greater coverage than previous-generation routers," ASUS says.
According to ASUS, the RT-AX88U provides for up to four times better network efficiency and capacity over its predecessor. The company says the router can achieve Wi-Fi speeds of up to 6,000Mbps, accounting for up to 1,148Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 4,804Mbps on the 5GHz band.
The router itself comes equipped with eight Gigabit LAN ports, along with two USB ports for attaching network storage or printers. It also comes with the typical smattering of QoS and gaming optimizations to make sure you can prioritize traffic for specific devices as you see fit.
All of this is powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core CPU to help keep traffic running smoothly, while built-in support for ASUS' AiMesh will let you create a mesh Wi-Fi setup throughout your whole home.
The ASUS RT-AX88U is available now for $350. Keep in mind, however, that, while the RT-AX88U is fully backward compatible with all previous Wi-Fi standards, it will be some time before you start seeing devices like phones and laptops on the market with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) on board.
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