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Netgear Nighthawk AX8 wireless router review

We try out Netgear's new Nighthawk AX8 router, one of the first to use the new Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) wireless network standard.
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Last updated: 16 Oct 2019
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CHOICE verdict

Netgear’s new Nighthawk AX8 wireless router is one of the first to use the new Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard, but it boosts network speed even for connected devices still using the older Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac). Its full potential in providing greater security and supporting more devices will be realised as other devices also upgrade to Wi-Fi 6. Meanwhile, it’s a performance booster, and future-proofs your home network.

Price: $600

Contact:

netgear.com.au

Wi-Fi 6 is the new name for the new standard for wireless networking (Wi-Fi), also known as 802.11ax, and Netgear is fast off the mark with three next-generation Wi-Fi 6 offerings.

Heading the performers is the Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream AX6000 Wi-Fi 6 Router (RAX80). There’s also a four-stream RAX40 ($400) and a 12-stream RAX12 model ($800). 

We borrowed Nighthawk AX8 from Netgear to see how much better Wi-Fi 6 is over the current standard that most people use, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac). The good news is that you don’t need to even have Wi-Fi 6 on your other devices to get a decent performance benefit.