Xiaomi's networking devices bring the latest technologies into our homes at a very affordable price. This could be the start of a brilliant marketing text, but it's not. It really isn't. We're going to talk about the new router launched this week, which has some exciting new features in store for us.
The transition to new technologies is not an easy task, especially in IT. In the case of networks, we need to upgrade both server and client tools, which can be costly.
WiFi 6, WPA3, OFDMA. What?
Xiaomi's new AIoT AX3600 router is quite up-to-date at the specification level, as it supports WPA3 and the even less common WiFi 6, 802.11ax. It is also capable of OFDMA, which addresses the problem that while traditional routers can only communicate with one device at a time due to bandwidth allocation, OFDMA allows for more efficient frequency allocation, resulting in reduced response times.
I'll explain why this is good in a later article, but for those less tech-savvy, WiFi 6 offers faster wireless internet connections, and the advantage of using WPA3 is that it provides a more secure wireless internet connection for the devices that support it.
And speaking of devices, Xiaomi believes that the bestia can handle up to 248 devices.But why would I need that many devices? Well, smart home and IoT enthusiasts will know the answer, as they will find this very useful, as everything is connected to the internet nowadays and you can easily reach the limits of an older type of router if you are serious about IoT.
1 a 3
I leave it up to you to solve the puzzle
Chinese is still not my strong point
This is OFDMA, illustrated with an everyday example
Specification
To be precise, it has 7 antennas, 2 of which are for "traditional" 2.4Ghz networks and the rest for 5 Ghz networks. It's also worth mentioning that the device has 512MB of RAM and 256MB of storage, and the chipset is a six-core Qualcomm IPQ8071A, 4 of which are for general tasks and 2 for networking. Yes, it's not 4, 8 or even 16 GB, we're talking megabytes here, but it's not worth comparing a target device to a multifunctional all-rounder. That's plenty of space for a router, and it's perfectly capable of running OpenWRT, plus you can fit a few extra programs in that space. No information is available at the moment on whether open source firmware will be available, but we'll be sure to report if it is.
How much is that?
Well, yes, like everything else, it comes at a price. It's worth bearing in mind that we're talking about new technology, but I think it's quite reasonably priced by comparison, as we can get it for about $86, or 26,650. That may seem like a lot, but it is not, in terms of functionality.
The router was unveiled at the Mi 10 launch, where other interesting details were also revealed. In case you're wondering what else Xiaomi has come up with, here you will find our Mi 10 report.
