Linksys has launched a new flagship WiFi 6 mesh router system, with the Velop AX4200 promising an uptick in range and speed. Latest in the company's mesh networking ecosystem, the Velop AX4200 taps WiFi 6 across all three bands - two for devices, one for the system's own backhaul - to better handle homes with a lot of devices.
Eero today announced a new initiative that will see it take its business in a surprising direction. The Amazon-owned company has revealed Eero for Service Providers, which is described as a "premium hardware and software offering" that's aimed at helping internet service providers bolster their WiFi services. So, it might not be long before your ISP is shipping you an Eero-made mesh router with their own branding on it.
Google has quietly cut the price of its older mesh network equipment, with Google Wifi demonstrating it can live on alongside Nest Wifi. Launched in 2016, Google Wifi was the company's first mesh networking system, promising to blanket your house with multiple beacons rather than relying on a single, high-power router.
Comcast is upgrading its Xfinity mesh network system, with the second-generation xFi Pod promising more speed and wider WiFi coverage. Designed to plug into a spare outlet, the adapters can deliver up to 500 Mbps of bandwidth and now have two ethernet ports for wired devices.
More often than not, ISPs will require you to use their own equipment, sometimes at an additional cost, with the reason of having certified and tested only those. More often than not, those basic routers and modems don't exactly give the best performance, especially in unconventional home setups and structures. Google Fiber started out with the goal of setting itself apart from other Internet providers and it is taking one more step away from the status quo by allowing subscribers to bring their own routers.
Today Amazon's event dumped a bunch of new products on the public with the smart home at the center of focus. This event revealed the new Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6, the latest in Wi-fi hubs for the Amazon smart home collection. These new Eero devices look a lot like their predecessors - simple, no-nonsense aesthetics.
It isn't unusual that we lose our cellular signals in certain places, be it indoors because of structural impediments or outdoors for one reason or another. There's a reason why some establishments offer free public Wi-Fi to keep visitors happy, but the hassle of figuring out which ones are safe to connect to makes them sad anyway. That's why Google's Area 120 skunkworks arm is launching Orion WiFi that can automatically and seamlessly connect you to such WiFi access points, but with a slight commercial twist that could interest network carriers.
A report today from China suggests that Apple is preparing to reveal their Apple AirTag device. This is a device that works with wireless sensor technology to act as a "loss prevention tag" of sorts. Much like the many, many similar sorts of tags we've used and reviewed over the past decade, Apple's AirTag will likely work with NFC, Bluetooth, and/or Wi-fi connectivity.
MacBooks and iPhones can easily share data, Internet connections, and even Wi-Fi logins thanks to the fact that only one company makes both the hardware and the software. Google doesn't really have that luxury at least on the hardware front, making it harder for it to push features that bridge its different platforms together. Fortunately, it hasn't given up on that yet and will soon be syncing one small but important kind of data between Android and Chrome OS devices, making it easier for both devices to connect to the same Wi-Fi networks in a snap.
The rise in the use of streaming services and video conferencing has most likely put increased stress on home networks. The promise of 5G is great and all that but when it comes to meeting the Internet needs of all devices at home, WiFi 6 is the technology being pushed for that. Given the complexity of use cases as well as house layouts these days, a simple and single WiFi 6 router may not even be enough. Enter NETGEAR's new Orbi WiFi 6 Tri-band AX4200 mesh system, now in a more affordable package but also with less muscle than its other Tri-band mesh system.
If you're using the right phone with the right software update, you can use Nearby Sharing right this minute. This is a software feature that makes sharing files from device to device super simple and relatively fast. It's like what Bluetooth connectivity was originally meant to be... but better.
Due to high demand for its public WiFi hotspot network, Comcast has announced that it will continue to make the service available for free to non-Comcast customers through the end of the year. With this network, anyone can get online at one of the hotspot destinations, giving people a way to access their schoolwork, check their email, and other things that have become vital amid social distancing efforts.