Following in the footsteps of popular consumer networking companies like D-Link, Netgear and Asus, TP-Link announced its own 802.11ax Wi-Fi routers. While the Archer AX6000 is up for pre-order, the Archer AX11000 would become available in January 2019. Let’s look at the important aspects like price, availability, specifications and features of the TP-Link 802.11ax Wi-Fi routers.
TP-Link Archer AX6000, AX11000 Specifications, Features
TP-Link has traditionally relied on chipsets from Qualcomm for its high-end Wi-Fi routers. Moreover, entry-level Wi-Fi 802.11ax products typically pack Broadcom chipsets. But for its first two 802.11ax Wi-Fi products, the company has opted for the latter.
The Archer AX6000 router is based on the Broadcom BCM49408 SoC with two 802.11ax radios of BCM43684. The BCM49408 SoC has a powerful 1.8GHz quad-core ARMv8 processor (Cortex A53-based) that’s supported by an 800MHz network packet co-processor. The latter lightens the load of the main processor. TP-Link’s solution has a 4×4:4 configuration. While one is dedicated to 2.4GHz throughput (802.11 b/g/n/ax, with 40MHz channels for up to 1,148Mbps speed), the other one is dedicated to the 5GHz channel (802.11 an/ac/ax, with 160MHz channel support for up to 4,804 Mbps of theoretical throughput).
The TP-Link AX11000 is a tri-band platform. However, it relies on the same BCM49408 SoC. The processor gets three BCM43684 radios in 4×4:4 configuration. Two radios are dedicated to 5 GHz, and one to 2.4 GHz channel. Both the TP-Link 802.11ax Wi-Fi routers feature 1GB RAM, a 2.5 Gbps WAN port, 8x gigabit LAN ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. One of the USB Ports is standard full-sized Type-A, while the other one is USB Type-C. The routers support link aggregation, band steering, and DFS.
Setting up the routers is quite simple. Users can easily set up and control the TP-Link 802.11ax Wi-Fi routers by using the Tether app. Interestingly, the initial setup relies on a Bluetooth connection. TP-Link is offering a 3-year subscription to the TP-Link HomeCare security feature. TrendMicro, a popular antivirus company, is backing the feature.
TP-Link Archer AX6000, AX11000 802.11ax Wi-Fi Routers Price, Availability
TP-Link is attempting to tap into the niche but rapidly growing networked and online gaming market with the Archer AX6000 and AX11000 802.11ax Wi-Fi routers. These products come with Game Accelerator’ QoS and gamers-focused UI. Interestingly, TP-Link has deliberately tagged one of the 5GHz radios as ‘5G_Gaming’ to appeal to gamers.
TP-Link has officially launched the AX6000 and AX11000 802.11ax Wi-Fi routers, but the Archer AX11000 will be available towards the end of January 2019. The TP-Link Archer AX6000 is up for grabs on Amazon. Interested buyers can pre-order the router for $350 (INR 24,500 approx.). The TP-Link Archer AX11000 will cost slightly higher at $450 (INR 31,500 approx.). The company hasn’t confirmed availability of the new Wi-Fi routers in India yet. But, we are confident TP-Link will launch the attractively price high-end Wi-Fi routers in India soon.
