Talking about the new Wi-Fi and the new features that each of these new versions will bring is always quite a technical task. After all, Wi-Fi is not something we can touch or even see. Wi-Fi is in the air and thanks to it we can connect to the Internet.
For this reason, we wanted in this article to tell you what will be new in the next Wi-Fi 7 (known by geeks as 802.11be) without getting bogged down in too many technicalities.
To start, we want to make a special mention that there are easier-to-remember names for the Wi-Fi versions that appear. It’s a relief not to have to talk about 802.11ax or 802.11n anymore. Wifi 5, wifi 6 or wifi 7 are much simpler terms.
Everything is fine there.
The problem now is that there are too many different standards: Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and soon Wi-Fi 7, which can be confusing for many.
If you want to learn more about what’s new in Wi-Fi 7 (without too much jargon, I promise) and whether switching from Wi-Fi 6 (or 6E) to Wi-Fi 7 is worth it, keep reading!
Wi-Fi 7 versus Wi-Fi 6 (and 6E)
For many and many, Wi-Fi 6 is still something quite new. In fact, you probably don’t have a Wi-Fi 6 router yet.
So why would we want to upgrade to even newer Wi-Fi now?
Surely what anyone switching to the new Wi-Fi wants: more speed, more reliability and better range. And, in theory, Wi-Fi 7 will fulfill all three wishes.
Companies that have already started making Wi-Fi 7 chips are already promising that the new standard will replace Ethernet cables. But take it with a grain of salt because, as fast as it is, Wi-Fi works fundamentally differently than wired networks.
Wi-Fi is “half duplex”. This means that data can only be sent in one direction at a time, whereas with an Ethernet cable it can be sent in both directions simultaneously. The best comparison would be with a talkie Walkie and a phone call.
With a talkie Walkie, you have to talk, wait and listen to the answer. But during a phone call, you can talk at the same time as the other person.
Although Wi-Fi 7 uses some nifty tricks to go faster than ever, it could never replace network cables, i.e. Ethernet cables.
To get to the point: Wi-Fi 7 will continue to use the same frequencies as before, i.e. -2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz -, but it could be faster and, in theory, offer better range thanks to the way it’s able to use those three bands.
These will be the three main new aspects of Wi-Fi 7:
- Bandwidth 320MHz
- multilink operation
- QAM-4K
We explain these three aspects in more detail below.
1. 320 MHz bandwidth: faster speeds
Much of the reason Wi-Fi 7 will be able to achieve the fastest speeds in Wi-Fi history is due to the 320 MHz bandwidth. To put the numbers in context, Wi-Fi 7 will be twice as fast as Wi-Fi 7. Wi-Fi 6E.
Wi-Fi 6E is limited to 160 MHz, which, without going into boring detail, means a transfer speed of 1.2 Gbps. Since Wi-Fi 7 will be able to use twice the bandwidth, it will have a base speed of 2.4 Gbps. All this in the new 6 GHz frequency, by the way.
This 2.4 Gbps speed is per stream and it is possible that a router and the device it communicates with supports multiple streams to increase this speed. A stream is what actually transports data between the router and the device, so it’s like having four Wi-Fi connections to quadruple the speed.
It’s a router Wi-Fi 7 which can provide four streams at the same time will have a Maximum speed of 9.6 Gbps.
Add to that the fact that Wi-Fi 7 supports up to 16 spatial streams (more jargon, but easy to say: double what Wi-Fi 6/6E supports), then Wi-Fi -Fi 7 can deliver up to 40Gbps. That’s around 40 times faster than the fastest broadband currently available, such as Virgin’s Gig 1.
It is important to note that all of these speeds are theoretical and the real world introduces interference and other factors that significantly reduce these speeds. But since this is an issue for all Wi-Fi standards, it means that Wi-Fi 7 will always be faster than Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.
Remember you will need a Wi-Fi 7 compatible device -a smartphone, a laptop or any other device – which also supports Wi-Fi 7. And to get the fastest speeds, that device will also need to support four streams. This is called “4×4”.
Sadly, that’s not something we’re going to get to see anytime soon. Even now, in 2022, you can’t buy a phone or any other device that supports four 6E Wi-Fi streams.
The best currently available is the so-called 2×2. This means that even if you have the router Faster and more expensive Wi-Fi 6E, capable of up to 4.8 Gbps, the theoretical fastest possible speed is actually half.
Assuming the same situation for Wi-Fi 7 phones and laptops, the fastest speed you will see will not be 9.6 Gbps but 4.8 Gbps.
And assuming you get half that in the real world, that would be 2.4 Gbps. Which is still blazingly fast compared to what’s out there today, and still twice as fast as your broadband internet connection. gigabitsif you are lucky enough to have one.
2. Multi-link operation: longer range
The multi-link operation that Wi-Fi 7 will incorporate allows you to join the 5 GHz and 6 GHz frequencies together so that they work as one connection. Normally only one frequency can be used at a time.
This allows for very fast speeds, but you need your phone, laptop, or other device to support this feature.
There is a second way to operate the multilink (MLO) in which it suffices that the router I support him. And that should be a game-changer for Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems.
This should mean that the connection never drops, even briefly, when your device connects to a different mesh router as you move around your house.
Also, with Wi-Fi 7, the connection isn’t locked to a specific channel or channel width like it was in the past. Instead, these elements can be dynamically changed to achieve the best performance based on conditions. In other words, if there is no interference, the connection can switch from 160 MHz to 320 MHz, and can then change which of the three available 320 MHz channels to use at any time.
Together, these features should mean that Wi-Fi 7 works better over longer distances than is possible with Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 6E.
3. QAM-4K
QAM is another important factor in Wi-Fi data transmission speed. It’s hard to explain without using even more jargon, but in a nutshell, QAM is a method of sending more data per 1 Hz of frequency.
And the higher the QAM number, the better. Wi-Fi 5 supports 256-QAM and Wi-Fi 6 supports 1024-QAM. Wi-Fi 7 quadruples that to 4096-QAM, which is why it’s known as 4K-QAM.
All of this, along with other new efficiency-boosting features, means Wi-Fi 7 will become the best option when you have a 1Gbps+ broadband connection and want to stream 8K video to a few TVs. in different directions. time, make video calls in 4K resolution and stream 4K games from cloud gaming services.
When will Wi-Fi 7 be available?
Although Wi-Fi 7 is still in development, we’ve already started to hear Qualcomm and MediaTek announcing chips compatible with the standard.
In May 2022, Qualcomm announced four chips, the 1620, 1220, 820, and 620, under its Networking Pro brand, which can be used in home routers and mesh systems. They offer theoretical maximum speeds of 33, 21, 16, and 10 Gbps respectively, with only the 1620 offering the full complement of 16 spatial streams.
At the end of the month, MediaTek launched the Filogic 880 (with a maximum speed of 36 Gbps) for routers and the Filogic 380, a dual-chip Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 for phones, laptops, televisions and decoders. It’s a 2×2 (two-stream) chip that the company claims is capable of up to 6.5 Gbps via MLO.
We are not yet at the stage where router or phone manufacturers announce products with these chips.
Realistically, we expect the first Wi-Fi 7 routers to go on sale sometime in 2023, and they might not offer the fastest 9.6Gbps speeds. The standard may not even be certified until 2024, making early adoption risky. We’ll probably have to wait even longer for a Wi-Fi 7 phone, laptop, or tablet.
When can I use Wi-Fi 7?
You can probably already guess the answer. If you have seen the prices of routers and Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems, you already know that the first Wi-Fi 7 devices will be very expensive.
And it’s still worth the wait beyond the first devices for two reasons: first, because prices will come down over time, and second, because you don’t have to risk spending money on something that is still experimental.
In other words, you’re not likely to buy anything before Wi-Fi 7 is certified, which could mean it’s not fully compatible with all the features the standard ends up offering.
Plus, unless you have a 1+ Gbps broadband connection, even a good Wi-Fi 5 mesh system will give you the speed and coverage you need, without breaking the bank.
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