Many new laptops, smartphones, and other devices ship with WiFi 6 (also known as 802.11ax) capabilities built in. But if you aren’t ready to buy a new PC just to improve wireless performance, maybe you can just buy a USB stick that’ll do the trick. D-Link has one coming later this year for about $100. […]
Tag: wifi
Lilbits: WiFi 6E, touchless controls, and Google’s new use for Soli radar?
We’re likely to start seeing routers, PCs, smartphones, and other devices with support for the new WiFi 6E standard soon, and a few days before the official start of the 2021 virtual Consumer Electronics Show, the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the launch of a certification program for devices featuring the new technology. Meanwhile, Intel has […]
Lilbits 7-07-2020: Xiaomi Mi TV Stick gets FCC certification, Google Loon goes live in Kenya
8 Comments on Lilbits 7-07-2020: Xiaomi Mi TV Stick gets FCC certification, Google Loon goes live in KenyaThe Xiaomi Mi TV Stick is expected to be one of the smallest Android TV devices to date, packing the guts of a powerful media streamer into a small stick that plugs into the HDMI port of your television. In May Xiaomi confirmed it was planning to bring the Mi TV Stick to market this […]
Lilbits 391: Better WiFi and ARM-based Macs
Apple makes the fastest smartphone processors on the market and the company has been claiming for years that its iPad Pro tablets can outperform laptops with Intel processors at certain tasks. So it’s not surprising that analysts have been claiming for years that Apple would eventually stop using Intel processors in its Mac computers and […]
Amazon’s new eero mesh WiFi system sells for $99 and up
The latest version of Amazon’s eero mesh WiFi system is the most affordable to date: a single router sells for $99. But like any mesh networking system, the idea is that you can use multiple devices throughout your home to ensure a stronger signal. While Amazon says a single eero route can cover up to […]
WiFi 6 officially launches today
A number of phones, laptops, routers, and other devices are already shipping with WiFi 6 baked in, promising improved speed, capacity, and power efficiency, among other things. But we’ll likely see a whole lot more WiFi 6 devices soon, because the WiFi Alliance says the official WiFi 6 certification program goes live starting today. In a […]
Amazon is buying mesh networking startup eero
Pretty much every major company that makes consumer routers has gotten into the mesh WiFi business over the past few years. But a startup called eero one of the first companies to posit the idea that you’d get better WiFi coverage in your house if you used a system of up to three routers instead […]
Asus Lyra Voice is a mesh WiFi router and an Alexa smart speaker
Over the past few years I’ve seen a growing number of smart speakers and mesh networking gear at the Consumer Electronics Show. So it’s not surprising at all that somebody decided to combine both of those technologies into a single product. The Asus Lyra Voice is a tri-band WiFi router that’s also a wireless speaker with […]
WiFi 6 is coming next year (faster data, improved efficiency, simpler naming)
Can’t remember whether 802.11ax is faster than 802.11ac or how they both related to 802.11ad? Starting next year, things should get a little easier, because the WiFi Alliance has announced the move to a simpler naming scheme for versions of the wireless data protocol. We’ll start to see the first devices featuring 802.11ax technology in […]
WPA3 WiFi security standard is here… but you might not see it for a while
As promised, the Wi-Fi Alliance is rolling out the biggest updated to WiFi security in more than a decade. The group has finalized the specification for the new WPA3 security standard, and it will begin certifying hardware. The move should offer improved security for devices that communicate over a WiFi connection (like when your phone […]
Plume’s new mesh WiFi routers come with an annual subscription fee
You might buy a new phone every year or two and a new laptop every few years. But odds are you don’t buy new WiFi routers all that often. So it’s no surprise that the companies that make home networking gear are looking for new ways to squeeze some ongoing revenue out of you. But […]
Wi-Fi EasyMesh standard will let you build a mesh network using routers from different companies
5 Comments on Wi-Fi EasyMesh standard will let you build a mesh network using routers from different companiesMesh networking has been all the rage in the WiFi router space over the last few years, with nearly every company that makes consumer networking gear offering a whole-home WiFi solution that lets you use multiple routers to boost your signal in spaces that would be tough to reach with a single router. But there’s […]