CES 2024: Wi-Fi 7 is Here With Faster Speeds and New Capabilities

The Wi-Fi Alliance has officially launched the new Wi-Fi 7 standard at CES 2024, bringing faster wireless speeds and advanced features to more devices. Also known as Wi-Fi Certified 7, the latest iteration marks a major step forward for connectivity for sectors increasingly requiring high-speed, low-latency networking.

The Wi-Fi 7 standard introduces up to 4.8Gbps maximum theoretical data speeds - nearly three times faster than the previous Wi-Fi 6 standard. It will allow users to enjoy bandwidth-intensive applications like virtual reality and video conferencing without lag. Increased speeds are made possible through new technologies like 320MHz channels and 4K QAM (​​Quadrature Amplitude Modulation).

The 320MHz channels, available in select countries, double today's widest bandwidth to maximize throughput. Meanwhile, 4K QAM achieves 20% higher transmission rates over 1024 QAM.

Multi-link operation is another key new feature that allows devices to aggregate bandwidth from both the 5GHz and 6GHz bands simultaneously. It enables significantly higher speeds, reduced latency, and better reliability for seamless multiplayer gaming and VR/AR experiences.

Some more Wi-Fi 7 enhancements, like deterministic latency, 512 compressed block acknowledgement, and uplink access optimization, further improve the quality of service for latency-sensitive apps.

The Wi-Fi Alliance expects rapid adoption of Wi-Fi 7-certified devices, with over 200 million units shipping as early as 2024. The new standard is also backwards compatible, ensuring existing devices can connect to the Internet.