It is officially new phone season, that time of year when big tech companies roll out the latest devices that

offer a host of new features that make you want to throw your old phone right in the trash.

Things like better screens, multiple cameras that look like spider eyeballs, and support

for WiFi 6!

Wait, WiFi 6… what happened to the first 5?

Well it turns out, you've actually been using one of the previous iterations of WiFi, which can trace

their roots to 1997.

Back then it wasn't called WiFi 1, but the much catchier 802.11.

The number code was designated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or

IEEE.

Since then, there have been several updates to the 802.11 standard, and each one had a

different letter tacked on the end, like a, b, g, and n.

But unless you're a diehard technophile, the letters and what they mean are hard to

sort out.

So to make things a bit easier for consumers, the next standard, 802.11 ax, will be referred

to as Wi-Fi 6, and previous standards will be retroactively renamed, like the last gen

802.11ac is now also called WiFi 5.

So how is WiFi 6 better?

Well like you might expect, it's promising faster speeds. Industry experts predict about

30% gains over WiFi 5 with theoretical maximum download speeds up to 10 Gbps in ideal conditions.

If you're into streaming 4K movies or want to jump into cloud gaming, those

numbers will make you drool.

One way it achieves this is by upping the number of bits the router can push out with

each transmission.

Sending information over the air is done by modulating radio waves.

The way the wave is affected is interpreted by the device as a one and a zero, a process called

quadrature amplitude modulation, or QAM.

A 2-QAM router can affect radio waves in two distinct ways, so each transmission could

only serve as a single one or a zero.

A 4-QAM router can send 2 digits at a time.

WIFi 5 routers are 256-QAM, meaning they can send 8 bits with each transmission,

while a WiFi 6 device is 1024-QAM, adding another 2 binary digits to each transmission

for a total of 10.

That all sounds great, but keep in mind your WiFi 6 router can only be as fast as your

internet service provider will allow, so depending on how you're wired into the grid and what

kind of plan you pay for, your mileage may vary.

Aside from the bump in speed limit, the exciting thing about WiFi 6 is how it delivers internet

to multiple devices.

The first improvement is the router's ability to split up the channels it's communicating

over, allowing different devices to get serviced directly simultaneously and cutting down on

latency.

WiFi 6 routers are also able to use the spatial differences between devices to tailor the

information it sends and receives.

And if there are multiple smart devices like thermostats and refrigerators that regularly

ping your router, a WiFi 6 router will put them on a schedule to ease congestion.

What this all means is WiFi 6 is great news for situations that deal with a lot of devices

all at once.

Stadiums and airports are ideal places for the new routers, and those with WiFi 6 compatible

phones, tablets, and computers will reap the benefits.

Otherwise unless you've got a home festooned with smart tech or pay your ISP for the very

best internet speeds possible, you're just fine with your old phone and router that

are still using the old 802.11ac.

Excuse me, WiFi 5.

While WiFi 6 certification just officially launched, the development of WiFi 7 is already

underway.

Have we ever mentioned how fast tech moves?

Wireless internet has been around for two decades, so when is wireless charging

going to be a thing? Check out Amanda's video on that here.

Is Wi-Fi 6 enough to make you upgrade your phone?

Let us know in the comments, subscribe for more, and I'll see you next time on Seeker.