Netgear has unleashed a torrent of new routers and switches at CES 2020. The San Jose-based company has never been afraid to limber-up and leap onto the latest technology trends before its rivals – and the latest kit is no different. Netgear has revealed a new mobile router designed to bring high-speed internet whenever you are thanks to the latest 5G network speeds. Not only that, but the Nighthawk M5 5G WiFi 6 Mobile Router is also compatible with Wi-Fi 6, guaranteeing that you’ll get fibre broadband-like speeds when you connect.
In fact, Wi-Fi 6 is found across the board in Netgear’s new products. The new standard can triple – or sometimes quadruple – the speed of home Wi-Fi networks, compared to the older 802.11ac protocol that powers the Wi-Fi router that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) shipped to you when you took out your current home broadband contract.
Netgear’s new Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System is designed to bring these blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speeds across your home. Like the Google Nest Wi-Fi and Amazon Eero, the mesh router system requires you to place small nodes throughout the home to eradicate any Wi-Fi dead zones in your house.
These extenders bounce and boost the Wi-Fi signal throughout your home. As you move from room to room, the system will intelligently hand-off your device to the node with the strongest connection – you won’t be aware of any of this, as far as you’re concerned, your device will be connected to the same network and just stick to full-bars of signal. But unlike rivals from Google and Amazon, Netgear’s new system uses the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard to ensure that compatible gadgets can get up to triple the bandwidth.
It also ensures your home network is completely future-proofed as more and more devices adopt the Wi-Fi 6 standard. Last year, Samsung added support for Wi-Fi 6 to all of its flagship smartphones, including the Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, and Galaxy S10e. Likewise, Apple has fitted the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max also support Wi-Fi 6 and will be able to tap into the blistering-fast speeds on your new mesh home network.
Of course, it’s also backwards compatible with older Wi-Fi 5-enabled devices, so don’t worry if you don’t have anything in your arsenal that supports the superfast internet protocol just yet.
The Netgear Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System helps extend the range of Wi-Fi 6 to as much as 3,000 square feet, which should be more than enough to cover most medium and large homes with internet speeds over 100Mbps for every single user. For reference, Netflix recommends 25Mbps to stream its highest Ultra HD resolution.
All combined, your home Wi-Fi speeds can reach up to 1.8 gigabits per second. Wowzers.
Like other mesh systems, the Wi-Fi network can be set-up using an app in a few seconds. You’ll be able to create a separate Wi-Fi network for guests with its own separate password. According to Netgear, the 1.5 GHz quad-core processor inside the router should enable applications that combine 4K UHD video streaming, AR/VR gaming, and more.
“In a period of just three years, mesh WiFi has taken a large share of the WiFi market,” said David Henry, senior vice president of Connected Home Products for Netgear. “We are excited to bring the power and flexibility of Nighthawk to this market, and lead the transition to Wi-Fi 6.”
Prices start from $230. Netgear Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System will hit the shelves in the United States in the coming weeks, no UK release date has been announced.