Key Takeaways
- Netgear’s new Wi-Fi 7 products are the Orbi 770 mesh system and the Nighthawk RS300 router.
- Wi-Fi 7 devices benefit from Multi-Link Operation (MLO), enabling connections on two bands simultaneously.
- The Orbi 770 is essentially a “budget” version of the Orbi 970.
Netgear is debuting two new Wi-Fi 7 products today, led by the Orbi 770 mesh system. The 770’s core router is equipped with four 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports, while each mesh extender has two, with support for creating a wired backhaul. As for the actual Wi-Fi, though, you get a tri-band network with up to 11Gbps of total bandwidth, and 320MHz channels on the 6GHz band that can potentially double bandwidth for devices that support Wi-Fi 7. There’s also extra bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7 devices connected to 240MHz channels on the 5GHz band.
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Even if you don’t have any Wi-Fi 7 devices — which is likely — one advantage of the standard is that Multi-Link Operation (MLO) allows simultaneous connections across the mesh on two bands. That can reduce congestion, as well as offer a fallback if a particular band is encountering problems.
Netgear Orbi 770
A tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system, with 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports on both the router and its mesh extenders. It’s available in two- and three-pack bundles, covering up to 5,500 and 8,000 square feet, respectively. Wi-Fi 7 devices can take advantage of extra bandwidth on the 5 and 6GHz bands.
The main selling point of the Orbi 770 is actually cost. A three-pack — covering 8,000 square feet — is $1,000, which is obviously expensive for a home mesh, but is still much less than the $1,700 for an Orbi 970. Many homes will probably only need a $700 two-pack, which still covers up to 5,500 square feet depending on obstacles.
What if I don’t need a mesh?
For apartment dwellers or people in small houses, Netgear has the standalone Nighthawk RS300 router. The $329.99 product has four 2.5Gbps LAN Ethernet ports, a dedicated 2.5Gbps WAN connection, and a USB 3.0 port for peripherals like attached storage. There are some compromises here — while you can still get 320MHz channels on the 6GHz band, 5GHz band channels are limited to160MHz, and the router has a whole has 9.3Gbps of bandwidth. Netgear says you can expect about 2,500 square feet of coverage for up to 100 devices.
Netgear Nighthawk RS300
A standalone Wi-Fi 7 router with four 2.5Gbps LAN ports, a dedicated 2.5Gbps WAN port, and USB 3.0 for add-ons like printers or external storage. It’s a tri-band router with up to 9.3Gbps of total bandwidth and 2,500 square feet of coverage.
The RS300 is shipping direct from Netgear as soon as June 13. If you want an Orbi 770, the earliest delivery is June 26 as of this writing. Expect it to reach third-party retailers sometime later in 2024.
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