The Orbi Wi-Fi 6 system includes a router and satellite for $700.
David Carnoy/CNET
Netgear’s Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi Mesh System is one of the better Wi-Fi mesh network systems on the market. Now the company is releasing its next-generation Orbi Wi-Fi 6, which offers not only higher wireless speeds but four times the capacity. Alas, there are caveats: You’ll need an ultrafast internet connection and Wi-Fi 6-enabled devices to fully take advantage of all that speed — and not many of you are there right now. It’s also expensive: The Orbi Wi-Fi 6 costs $700 for a bundle that includes a router and one satellite. It’s due to ship in the next month or so.
Read more: What Wi-Fi 6 means for routers — everything you need to know about the faster Internet that’s coming
The ports on the back of the router.
David Carnoy/CNET
Along with the enhanced network speed and increased capacity, Netgear says Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax (the sixth generation of 802.11) is more energy-efficient and doesn’t drain the battery life of your mobile devices nearly as much as Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) does. Right now, only the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 smartphones lines are Wi-Fi 6-enabled. Google’s Pixel 4 phone, rumored to arrive in October, may also be Wi-Fi 6-enabled. But it’s unclear if the new iPhones being announced next week will be.
Netgear also makes other Wi-Fi 6 routers, including the $600 Nighthawk AX12. We’ll have a full review of the new Orbi 6 when it’s released in October.
Watch this:
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Key specs
- Bundle includes Wi-Fi 6 router and one Wi-Fi 6 satellite
- 2.2GHz quad-core processor
- AX6000 tri-band Wi-Fi system
- 12 Wi-Fi 6 streams
- 1 x 2.4Gbps WAN port (router), plus 4 x 1Gbps LAN ports (router and satellite)
- Wall-mountable (accessory sold separately)
- VLAN-based guest network separation
- Price: $700
- Availability: October