Wi-Fi 7 will be the next-generation Wi-Fi standard that is currently under development. It is based on IEEE 802.11be standard and is expected to be announced officially in the coming months. WiFi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) was introduced back in 2019 and is the current Wi-Fi version available commercially.
Wi-Fi 7 promises to offer faster speeds and improved reliability as compared to Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 7 is expected to offer a maximum theoretical speed of 30 Gbps which is three times faster than the maximum theoretical speed of Wi-Fi 6. It will support up to 320 MHz channel width and up to 16 spatial streams. To reduce packet loss and improve reliability, Wi-Fi 7 will use advanced error correction techniques.
Also see: Wi-Fi 6 vs Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 7 vs Wi-Fi 6
| Feature | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 6 |
|---|---|---|
| IEEE Standard | IEEE 802.11be (expected to be finalized in 2024) | IEEE 802.11ax |
| Maximum Theoretical Speed | 30 Gbps | 9.6 Gbps (on a 160 MHz channel) |
| Frequency Bands | 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz | 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz |
| Channel Width | Up to 320 MHz | Up to 160 MHz |
| Spatial Streams | Up to 16 | Up to 8 |
| Modulation and Coding | 1024-QAM | 1024-QAM |
| MU-MIMO | Up to 16 users | Up to 8 users |
| OFDMA | Up to 8×8 | Up to 8×8 |
| Target Wake Time | Yes | Yes |
| Power Efficiency | More power efficient than Wi-Fi 6 | More power efficient than previous Wi-Fi standards |
| Backward Compatibility | Yes | Yes |
Wi-Fi 7 is expected to offer a significant improvement over the current Wi-Fi 6 standard, particularly in terms of speed and reliability. However, it is important to note that Wi-Fi 7 is still in development. So, there could be more changes in Wi-F7 until it is finalized.
