Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is the successor to Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and introduces, among other things, a technique called OFDMA that lets an access point split a radio signal more efficiently across multiple devices instead of serving them one after another. It came about because offices, shops and public spaces increasingly have many devices active on the same Wi-Fi network at once.

Where the difference actually shows up: in situations with many devices active at the same access point simultaneously — a full meeting room, a warehouse with several handheld scanners, or a reception area with many smartphones. There, Wi-Fi 6 distributes available airtime more efficiently, so individual devices spend less time waiting for their turn to transmit. A single laptop alone in a room barely notices this advantage.

The point almost every product description gets wrong: what's advertised is usually the maximum raw data rate of a single device under lab conditions, a number almost nobody hits in normal operation. The real progress Wi-Fi 6 brings isn't captured by that number — it shows up in how stable and free of noticeable waiting many simultaneous devices stay once a room fills up.