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Wi-Fi Alliance changes its naming convention; next up, Wi-Fi 6

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Oct 03, 2018, 8:43 PM

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Wi-Fi Alliance changes its naming convention; next up, Wi-Fi 6

The Wi-Fi Alliance is the group that sets standards for the Wi-Fi industry. Today, the Alliance announced that future generations of Wi-Fi will be known by a number instead of the technical naming structure previously in use. For example, the very next generation of Wi-Fi will be known as Wi-Fi 6 instead of Wi-Fi 802.11ax. Each new generation of Wi-Fi features faster speeds, better connectivity and improved user experience.

The Wi-Fi Alliance will also go back and retroactively name Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac technology) and Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n technology). With the change, consumers will find it much easier to understand that Wi-Fi 6 is an improvement over Wi-Fi 5, and is two generations better than Wi-Fi 4. It is doubtful that the average consumer knows whether Wi-Fi 801.11n is a more up-to-date and newer generation of Wi-Fi than Wi-Fi 8-2.11ac (it isn't). Want to know if that new router you're about to buy supports the latest Wi-Fi technology? Knowing that the number 6 comes before 5 is more intuitive than trying to figure this out using the old naming convention.

"For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi 6, and present a new naming scheme to help industry and Wi-Fi users easily understand the Wi-Fi generation supported by their device or connection."-Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance

According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi 6 will feature higher data rates, increased capacity, and will offer good performance in dense environments. It also will provide improved power efficiency. Starting next year, look for the new Wi-Fi certified logos like the one seen at the top of this article.

source: Wi-Fi Alliance

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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