Mesh networking allows you to wirelessly link your router with additional satellite devices to better blanket your home in reliable Wi-Fi coverage. Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax, is the new generation of Wi-Fi technology that promises faster top speeds and better, more efficient Wi-Fi performance. Each is a compelling reason to upgrade your router on its own -- and now, Linksys is covering both bases with a new Velop mesh router system that supports those speedy Wi-Fi 6 connections.
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Just don't expect it to come cheap. A two-piece setup like the one pictured above will retail for $699 on Amazon and at Best Buy -- more than twice the current cost of the Wi-Fi 5 version of Velop.
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Each Velop device includes four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports.
In fairness, $699 is the same as what you'll pay for the newest Netgear Orbi mesh system, which also supports Wi-Fi 6. Meanwhile, the Asus RT-AX92U, a two-piece Wi-Fi 6 mesh system, retails for considerably less than either of those, with a current asking price of $399 on Amazon.
That's still expensive, but manufacturers like Linksys, Netgear and Asus are betting that Wi-Fi 6 and mesh will make for an especially compelling combination, and one that'll put Wi-Fi 6 to work in people's homes in more immediate fashion. On its own, a single Wi-Fi 6 router can't do anything to speed up existing gadgets that use Wi-Fi 5 and earlier -- but with a mesh approach, where both the router and the nodes support Wi-Fi 6, the system should be able to spread a faster signal throughout the home more efficiently, which benefits everything.
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On the other hand, both Google and Amazon decided not to incorporate Wi-Fi 6 into their newest mesh systems. At $269 for a two-piece Nest Wifi setup and $249 for a three-piece Eero setup, both of those alternatives cost less than their Wi-Fi 6 counterparts.
We'll know more about how all of it compares once we have a chance to test everything out for ourselves. In the meantime, here's the rundown on the new Velop system's specs. The two-piece setup is available now, with additional Velop units available for preorder on Amazon for $399 each.
- Tri-band AX5300 (1,147Mbps 2.4GHz, 2,402 Mbps 5GHz, 1,733Mbps 5GHz)
- 2.2 GHz quad-core processor
- 512MB Flash memory, 1GB RAM
- 4x4 MU-MIMO
- 4 x 1Gbps LAN Ethernet ports
- USB 3.0 port