Pat PilcherD-Link is to release two alien spaceships… we mean two snazzy new Wi-Fi 6- capable routers on the NZ market.
Hot on the heels of their recently released Wi-Fi 6 mesh capable DIR-X1560 router (see Witchdoctor’s review here) D-Link is launching two new Wi-Fi 6 routers – the DIR-X1860 AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 and the DIR-X5460 AX5400 Wi-Fi 6.
Both offer all the good stuff you get with Wi-Fi 6, which as well as speed includes more wireless capacity and bandwidth so they can better support more smart devices in the home.
The DIR-X1860 and DIR-X5460 sport 24 and 5Ghz support as well as 1024 QAM to which can boost throughput by up to 25 percent. There is also 160MHz contiguous channel width, which equates to more bandwidth. In non-geek-speak, they’re fast. The DIR-X5460 will deliver combined throughput of up to 5,400 Mbps (600 Mbps on 2.4Ghz + 4,800 Mbps on 5Ghz). The Dir-X1860 will crank out (1200 Mbps on the 5GHz and 600 Mbps on the 2.4GHz).
There’s good news for those with flaky Wi-Fi coverage, too. Both routers have built-in power amplifiers and make use of beamforming technologies to extend Wi-Fi coverage. Both will also support six simultaneous data streams, which means they will easily handle all the smart home devices you can throw at them and then some.
With a growing number of NZ homes opting for unlimited Gigabit fibre, both routers also come with Gigabit Ethernet LAN and WAN. A Quality of Service (QoS) engine means you can prioritise data traffic, so the right devices in your home get the bandwidth they need.
As well as MU-MIMO, both routers use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), which splits a Wi-Fi channel into four sub-channels. These allow data from multiple gizmos to get simultaneously transmitted together, avoiding slowdowns. D-Link says that this will deliver anything up to a 4x boost in capacity.
For crowded Wi-Fi channels where you live, a tech called BSS Colouring makes your router’s transmissions unique. It does this by ‘colouring’ them with a unique code, resulting in less interference and more range in congested RF environments.
The DIR-X1860 and DIR-X5460 retail at $329.99 and $529.99 respectively.
