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WiFi 6: everything you need to know and added features

The arrival of the new iPhone 11 has opened the doors to a new protocol of wireless connections. Samsung’s Galaxy S10 was the first to anticipate the arrival of this new technology.

New wifi protocols

The WiFi Alliance, which oversees the implementation of the WiFi standard, has certified the new wireless standard (IEEE 802.11ax) which will be known as WiFi 6 and which, among other things, promises to improve information transfer speeds.

The organisation has opened this Tuesday the certification program for new wireless connections, which will allow better performance of WiFi network in demanding environments such as stadiums, airports, and parks where many connected devices accumulate. This technology will provide, from this improvement, a series of developments in capacity, performance, and latency of connections for the WiFi ecosystem, while ensuring that compatible electronic products work more operationally.

A few major improvements

The most obvious result is that it will allow more information to be sent over a given bandwidth than previous standards and will increase bandwidth to deliver higher performance with low latency. In particular, it will run between three and four times the performance of the previous technology, achieving, in turn, less latency – response time.

It will be up to four times faster than the current standard, WiFi 5, implemented in most smartphones. It represents, says sources in the organisation, an advance in the ability of wireless networks to support a new high-performance infrastructure based on a high density of connected devices.

Among some of its advantages, the new WiFi 6 connections will allow users to customise the use of networks when detecting the most efficient connection, but will also have an impact on the consumption of the equipment battery, which will be lower than current standards. In particular, support up to a maximum of seventy electronic devices in a range of up to 100 meters.

Another capability will be the higher data rate, higher capacity, better performance in environments with many connected devices and improved power efficiency, but it will try to pay more attention to computer security. As set out in the protocol, the system will alert the user to the protection of wireless connections.

Conclusion

“WiFi 6 will provide higher speeds and more efficiency to WiFi networks, expanding its role as a critical communication platform,” said Phil Solis, director of research at IDC, in a statement.

“It offers a higher quality experience for all cases of WiFi use, further driving the market and ensuring that wireless networks maintain their strong position as the connectivity landscape evolves. The first chips have already been introduced under this certification.