Qualcomm recently hosted a special event centered around Wi-Fi 6, called Qualcomm Wi-Fi 6 Day. Coinciding with the event, the company released a number of documents going over its ambitions for the new standard in Wi-Fi connectivity.
More and more devices are connecting to wireless networks, whether they be cellular or Wi-Fi networks, and the devices have steeper demands than ever before. Online activities, like video streaming (with ever increasing image resolution) or cloud gaming, require high bandwidth – and low latency in the latter's case – and Wi-Fi 6 can help deliver that.
- Learning about securing your Wi-Fi
- Check out our review of Google Wifi
- See our list of 5G phones
Where to see Wi-Fi 6
Qualcomm has already been pushing for more Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Mobile devices built around Qualcomm systems-on-chip (SoCs) can feature Qualcomm's FastConnect Subsystems, which enable Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. These subsystems integrate both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections of the device as well as other non-cellular connections.
We've already seen Wi-Fi 6 connectivity show up a number of places. Some routers are already out on the market, Samsung's Galaxy S10 series all include Wi-Fi 6 connections through their Snapdragon 855 chipset, and some laptops already feature the new standard.
The Wi-Fi 6 implementation seen in Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 855 Plus chipsets is largely coming from from Qualcomm's FastConnect 6200 subsystem. But, the company has a new FastConnect 6800 subsystem on the way, which expands on the former's offering with improvements on users' uplink connection.
Wi-Fi 6 is for way more than just phones
AMD, the popular chipmaker behind the recent Ryzen 3000 series of processors, is also going to work with Qualcomm. According to AMD Senior Director of Product Management David McAffee, the company will implement the Qualcomm FastConnect platform alongside its mobile laptop processors.
Qualcomm is also ready to build Wi-Fi 6 into automobiles, with its QCA6696 SoC.
The SoC company isn't just focused on the chips going into devices that will connect to Wi-Fi 6 networks, but also working to build the networks that those devices will connect to.
The Qualcomm Networking Pro Series is all about building networks that can deliver on the demand for a massive number of connected devices with no negative impact on user experience, all while maintaining high bandwidth and low latency. These platforms are designed with densely packed areas in mind, like "university lecture halls, malls, stadiums and office buildings."
This push for broader implementation of Wi-Fi 6's capabilities, alongside growth in 5G mobile networks, will be at the center of improvements in connectivity in the coming years. To say that both technologies could be transformative for how we operate online would not be an overstatement.
- There was a vulnerability in the new Wi-Fi standard
