IFA 2019: NETGEAR shows off WiFi 6 products and new digital canvas

IFA 2019 has been very busy so far but we're not done with our coverage just yet. This week, Leo had the chance to stop by at NETGEAR's area to check out the all-new WiFi 6 wireless routers and a new peculiar digital canvas.

NETGEAR launched its first Orbi Whole Home WiFi Mesh System back in 2016 and this week, we are seeing the next evolution with the Orbi WiFi 6. It has four times the network capacity of 802.11ac, solving high traffic bandwidth issues in the home.

Orbi WiFi 6 scales to provide these gigabit internet services to multi-gigabit through the use of a 2.5 Gbps WAN port or using link aggregation to combine two ports together. It also uses NETGEAR’s patented tri-band mesh technology with 4×4 radios on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz fronthaul, as well as a 5GHz backhaul.

Orbi WiFi 6 Tri-band Mesh System (RBK852) will be available in the coming month for a suggested retail price of £749 for the router.

The Nighthawk EAX8 WiFi 6 Extender aims to deliver maximum speed and coverage too. With WiFi 6 added to a wireless network, Netgear claims blazing-fast performance up to 6 Gbps. The 8-stream WiFi delivers more spatial streams with more available bandwidth and thus less congestion for all the devices connected on the WiFi network.

Compatible with any WiFi Router, including internet service provider gateways, extending the network capabilities with the new Nighthawk AX8 WiFi 6 extender is seamless and uncomplicated. You have a single WiFi network name (SSID) and password so that devices do not need to be manually connected to the extended WiFi 6 network.

The EAX80 also comes equipped with four gigabit LAN ports for those who prefer a wired connection to their devices, and includes a USB 3.0 port to add network accessible storage.

The Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi 6 Mesh Extender (EAX80) is now available for pre-order worldwide for a MSRP of £279 and is expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Moving on from WiFi 6 networking gear, NETGEAR also showed off the new Meural Canvas II this week. Netgear acquired Meural roughly one year ago in an effort to expand more in the smart home market. Through a combination of Meural's proprietary hardware and a library of 30,000 licensed artworks, the Meural Canvas II acts as a new media distribution platform for artists.

The Meural Canvas II is based on TrueArt technology, which a signature matte, anti-glare display, gesture/voice controls and a PC/mobile app to deliver a new, customisable art viewing experience. Essentially, instead of hanging a new picture frame on the wall, you could instead use one of these and change the displayed image any time you want.

Here is how the Meural Canvas II product stack breaks down:

• 19×29 frame with 27-inch HD display in white or black – £779.
• 19×29 frame with 27-inch HD display in dark or light wood- £829.
• 16×24 frame with 21.5-inch HD display in white or black – £599.
• 16×24 frame with 21.5-inch HD display in dark or light wood – £649.
• Swivel Mount – £45.
• Annual membership subscription to the Meural curated art library price to be confirmed.

KitGuru Says: WiFi 6 was the big thing at NETGEAR for us this year. We are looking forward to getting more familiar with the tech and putting it through its paces in the coming months. 

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