5 days ago
Qualcomm takes a look into the future with Wi-Fi 8
Last November, we told you that Wi-Fi 8, the successor to Wi-Fi 7, will focus on reliability instead of speed. Qualcomm says that the goal of Wi-Fi 8 is to "prioritize reliable performance in challenging real-world conditions, enhancing connectivity even in congested, interference-prone and mobile environments."
One cool feature of Wi-Fi 8 is "Seamless Roaming." This allows a device to provide a "once connected, always connected" experience. By maintaining a continuous low-latency connection as a device moves around, there are no interruptions or packet drops due to handoffs. An important capability of Wi-Fi 8 is its ability to continuously offer a reliable and high-quality connection under non-ideal signal conditions.
For example, in some areas, there is signal degradation due to the distance the device is from the Wi-Fi signal, interference, or power limitations. Qualcomm says that Wi-Fi 8 uses a range of physical layer enhancements working together to keep Wi-Fi connected even if the environment isn't perfect. This is referred to as having reliable coverage at the edge.
Where Ultra-High Reliability is most important. | Image credit-Qualcomm
Ever run into problems with your Wi-Fi connection in areas considered high density, such as corporate campuses, apartment buildings, and public venues? Problems such as overlapping signals or battles among various devices for access to the shared wireless signal can lead to problems with the user experience. Wi-Fi 8 solves this using one of its most important features, multi-Access Point (AP) coordination.
Connectivity challenges that Wi-Fi 8 will face. | Image credit-Qualcomm
This allows APs to work as a team rather than independently. When APs work independently, devices could end up "attached" to a distant AP with a weaker signal, leading to poor performance. In Wi-Fi 8, Access Points, resources between APs, are shared, allowing for a more consistent experience for the user.
Today's devices carry multiple radios (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB), causing coexistence challenges. Wi-Fi 8 allows for improved in-device coexistence to ensure smoother operation when multiple radios share antennas or spectrum. This allows the wireless networking technology to gracefully handle the temporary outages when the antenna is used for another technology. Wi-Fi 8 features improved in-device coexistence thus ensuring smoother operation when multiple radios are sharing antennas or spectrum. Wi-Fi 8 also includes new features making wireless connectivity more energy aware without having to compromise responsiveness.
The Evolution of Wi-Fi. | Image credit-Qualcomm
Qualcomm says that Wi-Fi 8 will make the biggest impact in smart factories, hospitals, college campuses, homes, and public spaces. The latter include airports, stadiums, and transit hubs. Expected to be ready in 2028, IEEE802.11bn will be the upcoming standard serving as the foundation of Wi-Fi 8. It will help with two trends:
Wi-Fi standards from Extremely High Throughput to Ultra High Reliability. | Image credit-Qualcomm
The trend toward personal devices such as smart glasses, next-gen wearable devices, and health monitors. These devices need seamless short-range wireless performance so they can offload intensive tasks to other, companion devices.
The second trend is the one moving toward AI-driven systems that require "reliable, low-latency connectivity to access edge or cloud-based AI for real-time inference." Again, keep in mind that Wi-Fi 8 will focus on improving Wi-Fi reliability, not speed.
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