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These days, you rarely ask if a smartphone has Wi-Fi (after all, everyone does). Even rarer is you asking what Wi-Fi standard the device s. WiFi 5? Wi-Fi 6? This is a more technical issue, but it makes all the difference in your experience with the device. And that also extends to routers. 236v5d
In times of a pandemic, social distancing and quarantine – the so-called “new normal” – the Qualcomm recommends that, to meet this new type of demand, you buy routers with Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6.
This alert was given by Hamilton Mattias, director of product marketing at Qualcomm, during the virtual event “Latam Connectivity Roadshow 2020”, in which he presented the company's advances in its connection standards, with a focus on Wi-Fi 6 e WiFi 6E.
“Wi-Fi 4 no longer meets today’s needs.”
Hamilton Mattias, Director of Product Marketing at Qualcomm
According to Mattias, the number of devices connected in the house and the need to stream games and movies makes it recommended that the have Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6.
The marketing director also highlighted how 2×2 Wi-Fi technology — two pairs of antennas for signal reception and two pairs for sending the signal — makes the internet faster on cell phones, greatly improving the experience. Mattias also explored the results of a first-of-its-kind survey conducted by Qualcomm in Latin America on experience with Wi-Fi technology.
For Qualcomm's marketing director, these new Wi-Fi technologies are the most recommended to meet the demands of the “new normal” and the future.
But what are these Wi-Fi standards? What advantage do they bring to our daily lives? What were Qualcomm's breakthroughs? Which devices already them here in Brazil?
O showmetech answer all of these below!
What is Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E? 341yr
In short: they are wireless networking standards. “It's the next generation of Wi-Fi that perfectly complements 5G. It was thought and designed for dense, high-demand environments,” explained Hamilton Mattias.
The names even come from the new definitions of the Wi-Fi Alliance, which represents most companies that work with wireless networks. The new official Wi-Fi nomenclatures are as follows:
- Wi-Fi 802.11b is now Wi-Fi 1;
- Wi-Fi 802.11a is now Wi-Fi 2;
- Wi-Fi 802.11g is now Wi-Fi 3;
- Wi-Fi 802.11n is now Wi-Fi 4;
- Wi-Fi 802.11ac is now Wi-Fi 5;
- Wi-Fi 802.11ax is now Wi-Fi 6.
In the case of Wi-Fi 6, is a standard that has been around since 2019, but has been improving. And in 2020, companies started releasing devices that it, such as routers and smartphones.
O Wi-Fi 6 is next step in wireless technology, which promises to increase connection speeds and provide a more stable network environment for multiple devices at the same time.
Regarding connection speeds, the Wi-Fi 6 can up to 9.6Gbps. To give you an idea, the Wi-Fi 5 generation s speeds up to 3.5Gbps. However, it is important to that both these limits are only theoretical, as your connection would hardly be able to reach these speed levels.
Another important point is that this higher speed potential means that the Wi-Fi 6 can better distribute your internet speed across a network of devices, which means more speed potential for each device.
A practical example: if your house has two notebooks, a video game, a smart TV and four smartphones connected to the same network and the devices Wi-Fi 6 and your router too, the internet will be more stable on all devices. Consequently, the connection will flow better.
That's because instead of increasing the connection speed of each device, the real objective of the Wi-Fi 6 it is precisely to improve the condition of the network when many devices are connected at the same time.
The new technologies of Wi-Fi 6 allow routers to communicate with more devices simultaneously, send data to multiple devices on the same broadcast signal (to many at the same time), and even allow Wi-Fi devices to schedule when they will communicate with the router.
Together, these features should keep connections stable even as more devices the network and request data.
And WiFi 6E? This is a new wireless networking standard that complements Wi-Fi 6, freeing up the 6GHz frequency bands for connections of this type. In other words, Wi-Fi 6E is a Wi-Fi 6 that s 6GHz networks.
In this way, the network offers three bands: 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz. This allows for more stable connectivity and ensures higher performance between compatible devices. Another advantage is that this greater offer of channels avoids problems of congestion in the demand of the network. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Wi-Fi 6E brings 14 new 80MHz channels and seven 160MHz channels.
Thanks to this offer of 1.200MHz more, in WiFi 6E performance on short-distance connections — that is, on devices that are not far from the router — turns out to be superior to Wi-Fi 6.
When Mattias recommended that you use routers with Wi-Fi 5 or 6, he considered that in this “new normal” people are spending more time at home, connected and with work, school and entertainment demands.
Social isolation and quarantine made houses also become offices, schools and cinemas. This new reality, with more video calls and streaming of diverse content, has increased the demand on the home wireless network. Hence the recommendation to invest in devices with Wi-Fi standards that can withstand the bump.
“New trends have emerged and we need to adapt. This is Wi-Fi for the new normal and the future.”
Hamilton Mattias, Director of Product Marketing at Qualcomm
What were Qualcomm's breakthroughs? 4p696a
At the virtual event, the company showed the news that should reach the Brazilian market between the end of this year and the beginning of 2021. The marketing director commented on Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, FastConnect chips and the Networking platform Pro Series.
The announced launches cover smartphones and notebooks (client devices) and routers and access points (APs), which are the signal providers.
2×2 Wi-Fi technology is present in smartphones and tablets. According to Qualcomm, the new technology offers three main advantages compared to 1×1 Wi-Fi (one antenna to send signal and one to receive):
- Higher internet speed;
- Greater coverage, keeping speeds high even away from the router;
- Greater battery savings, because thanks to greater stability the smartphone does not need to dedicate energy to reconnecting to the network.
A Qualcomm reported that 2×2 Wi-Fi will be available on devices with Snapdragon 660 and 800 series processors. Qualcomm chips ing Dual Band (5GHz and 2.4GHz) also have 2×2 Wi-Fi.
Now talking about the WiFi 6E, the company informed that Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) must finalize its decision on freeing up the band needed for devices with 6GHz Wi-Fi to operate by the end of this year.
The company announced that devices with FastConnect 6700 and 6900 chips will feature WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Among the advantages of this new Bluetooth technology, the main one is the sharing of audio from a device with more than one pair of wireless headphones.
As a result, according to Qualcomm, the WiFi 6E should arrive in Brazil by early 2021. Anatel's decision will make Brazil the Latin American country closest to implementing this new wireless network standard. Check the map below:
The company also cited, among the advantages, the low latency and greater coverage of both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, faster Wi-Fi speed for “next generation” content and applications, and “wired standard” music quality – only that wireless.
Regarding the Networking Pro Series, the marketing director explained that this is a platform for Wi-Fi 6 for routers. It was developed as a means to implement Wi-Fi 6 technology, with a new chipset architecture optimized for high network demand environments.
This platform has four models: 400, 600, 800 and 1200. Among the advantages of the Networking Pro Series, Mattias highlighted that connections remain reliable and secure even with hundreds of devices connected to the same network, considering a corporate context.
What did Qualcomm find in the survey? 3d4y1b
One of the company's main findings in the survey applied to s in Latin America was that seven out of ten people do not have Wi-Fi coverage throughout their home environment.
According to the company, the survey was carried out with 2.305 s of smartphones with Android in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru. According to the survey, bad experiences with Wi-Fi led 44% of s to disconnect from wireless networks and switch to their respective data plans (3G and 4G).
Regarding Wi-Fi 2×2, in blind tests with two smartphones — one with Wi-Fi 1×1 and the other with Wi-Fi 2×2 — 76% of respondents found the performance of the second to be superior to that of the first. After seeing this difference and understanding what caused it, 82% of s said they would switch brands if their preferred brand didn't have smartphones with 2×2 Wi-Fi.
According to Hamilton Mattias, implementing this technology doesn't impact much on the cost of smartphone development, but it does have a significant impact on the experience.
Which devices Wi-Fi 6 in Brazil? 6b465i
Below is a list of smartphones sold in Brazil that currently Wi-Fi 6:
- Apple iPhone 11;
- Apple iPhone 11 Pro;
- Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max;
- Lenovo Z6 Pro;
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10;
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10 +;
- Samsung Galaxy S20;
- Samsung Galaxy S20 +;
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra;
- Motorola Edge +.
Here are some examples of routers sold in Brazil that Wi-Fi 6:
Regarding tablets, the only one available in Brazil that currently s Wi-Fi 6 is Apple's iPad Pro. There are still no smart TVs that this wireless networking standard.
Source: Qualcomm
