It’s a known quantity in technology that the moment you buy something, it’ll already be out of date. Consider it part and parcel of the momentum of change, and a frustration that affects everyone.
The good news is “out of date” doesn’t typically matter much. Just because there’s a new phone or gadget or something else out doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be happy with the new tech that you have. Sometimes, it gets even crazier because technology comes out before the standard representing that technology is even finalised.
We’ve only just started seeing WiFi 7 routers and tech in the past couple of years, and we know WiFi 8 is coming, on the horizon with products in development.
The WiFi 8 standard as it is still isn’t complete, and isn’t set to be finalised until 2028. But don’t let that stop progress, because one networking tech company is practically ready well ahead of that date.
TP-Link has announced the Archer 8, the first WiFi 8 router in a time when the WiFi 8 isn’t even technically a standard yet. It’s actually a draft standard, and not expected to be finalised and ratified for another couple of years, though TP-Link isn’t concerned.
“As a leading vendor in Wi-Fi networking, it’s important that we refresh and renew our products to deliver the new capabilities enabled by technological advancements like those coming with Wi-Fi 8,” said Miles Sheridan, Head of Technology at TP-Link in Australia and New Zealand, telling Pickr that component support for the draft standard has already been shown even at CES earlier in the year.
“Taking a product to market prior to formal publication of the 802.11bn standard is a business decision based on knowledge of the new standards’ objectives, component technology readiness, component supply availability and support from those component suppliers,” he said. “IEEE 802.11bn is expected to be finalised by its IEEE working groups in the March to June 2028 timeframe, with working group revisions prior to final approval already underway.”
That means most of the 802.11bn WiFi 8 standard is probably in a position for network companies to start making the technology work, and to start releasing the hardware before even the phones, tablets, computers, game systems, and TVs deliver the support, as well.
When those gadgets are ready, however, TP-Link says homes and businesses using WiFi 8 should see measurable improvements, including faster and more stable speeds at long range, better performance bouncing between multiple access points, and stronger and more reliable phone coverage throughout the home. They’ll also support existing standards, making them work with WiFi 6 and WiFi 7 devices, as well.
With that in mind, TP-Link will have several on the way, including the Roam 8 WiFi 8 travel router, the Deco 8 WiFi 8 mesh system, and the one being talked up now, the Archer 8, the first WiFi 8 router for the company, and possibly for any company.
Designed with a minimalist aesthetic and an antenna architecture built for range, not to mention some network intelligence with a little bit of AI inside, it’s a router made for roughly the next five to ten years, working ahead of that finalised WiFi 8 standard in 2028.
One thing you won’t get just yet is a price, with TP-Link note that’ll come closer to launch, but that launch could be sooner than you expect. And this isn’t the first time the company has built products before standards were finalised, either, announcing WiFi 7 gear in November 2022, releasing it in 2023, before WiFi 7 was finalised in 2024.
While it’s doubtful early adopters will have to wait a year before the WiFi 8 Archer 8 is released, it does mean that they may be able to be future-ready before 2028, with a release expected sometime in the next six to nine months.
