Ubiquiti is finally launching its first Wi-Fi 7 access point. A fitting week to show off the new tech, the company is getting in on the CES 2024 action with the debut of a long-awaited Wi-Fi 7 expansion to its popular UniFi networking platform. We explore what to expect from the new Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro access point and its $189 price tag below.
Ubiquiti has been launching some pretty compelling releases lately, but most recently stumped us by debuting a Wi-Fi 5 access point. A truly bizarre move by pretty much any account, the company had a lot to make up for going into 2024. Thankfully, it has moved on pretty quickly and is now launching a long-awaited Wi-Fi 7 access point.
The new U7 Pro is the latest release to join the UniFi ecosystem, and is the first and only release from the company to support the new 802.11be standard. It has 6GHz frequency support, as well as 1,500-square feet of range to go alongside its ability to handle 300 devices. There’s nothing all too thrilling about those range and supported devices specs, as it’s what we’ve come to expect from some of the Wi-Fi 6 gear. But where things get fun is with the 2.5 GbE uplink and 9.3Gb/s over-the-air speed.
There is one bad part about the new UniFi U7 Pro, and that is this is a 2×2 MIMO access point. I’m going to reserve judgement to see if that actually matters in real world usage, but it doesn’t inspire the most confidence when the U6 Pro that came before it was a 4×4 MIMO device. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. Oh and also, you’re going to have to wait until February to be able to use the Multi-Link Operation (MLO) capability, which is said to be provided via software update come next month.
The build is truly nothing special for Ubiquiti, and I say that as fondly as possible. It’s the tried and true circular access point that has been the company’s standard for far longer than I have been reporting on all things UniFi. That’s fantastic news, as it should fit the existing mounting hardware.
You can now buy the new UniFi U7 Pro direct from Ubiquiti’s website. It sells for $189 and is now shipping. It joins the lineup at only $20 more than the U6 Pro version, which doesn’t feel like too bad of a markup for the newer tech.
gadgetnewsonline’ Take
Finally! We have some Wi-Fi 7 tech from Ubiquiti. I’ve been getting jealous seeing all of these consumer tech brands launch new Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems with the networking standard, and now I can finally upgrade my existing network. I do worry that it means I’ll go down the rabbit hole of overhauling my entire network to try and take advantage of the 9.3Gb/s of throughput and 2.5GbE uplink, but that should at least mean I have a lot to share over the next few months.
I just placed an order for one of the new access points, so stay tuned as I get things unboxed and set up. I am very eager to see how this performs, and see if there really is any benefit to Wi-Fi 7 right now.
Catch up on UniFi Diary pieces at gadgetnewsonline:
- Ubiquiti debuts new UniFi Express AiO mesh Wi-Fi 6 router for just $149
- UniFi Diary: Detailing my 80TB Synology NAS, Mac mini, and Ubiquiti setup
- UniFi Diary: After 3 years with the USG, I’m finally upgrading to the Dream Machine Pro
- UniFi Diary: Wi-Fi 6 is finally here, but is it worth upgrading your Ubiquiti setup?
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