WI-FI 6

If you think your bundled broadband router is holding your connected gear back, welcome to the internet’s zippy new age

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Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500

₹ 24,999 / netgear.com

If you’ve already bought a new high-end router in the past year, congratulations on scoring serious nerd points – and there’s a decent chance it already supports Wi-Fi 6 (see panel below). While the new standard works its way down to freebie routers dished out by broadband providers, investing in something like Netgear’s Nighthawk RAXE500 is the ultimate way in.

But pay attention, because this router doesn’t just support Wi-Fi 6, but Wi-Fi 6E. This means you’re still on the same 6GHz spectrum, only the ‘E’ signifies even more bandwidth for a very select number of new devices. Think of it like a VIP section for the very latest gadgets only.

REVENGE OF THE 6

Looking a little like Darth Vader’s docked landing craft (we suspect at least partially on purpose), the RAXE500 is all about capacity – with around three times the bandwidth most of us are used to at present. You’ll get four swim lanes of 6GHz, four of 5GHz and four of 2.4Ghz, giving your smart home devices a more even spread.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to stretch some wired connections to the RAXE500 you’ll also get to utilise the multi-gig Ethernet ports, which Netgear says should be 2.5x faster than a typical Gigabit Ethernet port. Oof, we can smell the gamer testosterone from here.