Asus has released the first Wi-Fi 8 router for $900. It tested well, but the standard is not final and no everyday devices can use it yet.
The first Wi-Fi 8 router is here. It is the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro, a gaming router that costs $900. Wired rated it 8 out of 10 after about a month of testing and found it fast, silent and reliable. The catch is timing. Wi-Fi 8 is not finalized, and devices that can use it are still a long way off.
The router is built on a draft version of the Wi-Fi 8 standard. Asus says it will be updated as the standard nears final certification. It is quad-band, meaning it uses four radio channels: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and two 6 GHz bands. It is also huge, about 14 inches square and 9 inches tall with its eight fixed antennas. Wired compared it to a giant dead mecha spider.
Wired reports up to 3 Gbps in the same room and around 1 Gbps through a wall. At the bottom of a garden behind thick walls, it still pulled 350 Mbps. It was slightly faster than Asus's Wi-Fi 7 RT-BE96U at every distance. It stayed silent and cool, with no fan, and the firmware was steadier than early Wi-Fi 7 Asus models.
The router has plenty of wired connections too:
Wi-Fi 8 is not mainly about higher speeds. It aims to keep connections stable when there is interference and to cut delay, which matters for gaming. The router automatically spots gaming devices and gives them priority. With four gamers online at once, Wired saw smooth results. Wired could only test Wi-Fi 8 gains by linking two of these routers, which reached close to 5 Gbps at close range. Most Wi-Fi 8 devices will not manage that.
Asus does not charge a subscription. The router includes security software, parental controls and a year of NordVPN. Even so, Wired says most people should not be thinking about Wi-Fi 8 yet and calls the $900 price a hefty early adopter tax. For now, this is for enthusiasts who want the newest hardware.
Wired could not test a feature called AFC, which lets a router boost its 6 GHz power for more range after checking for licensed services nearby. It is available in the US but not in every country. The final Wi-Fi 8 standard and the first compatible phones and laptops are still to come, and the material gives no dates for either.
Your current Wi-Fi is fine for now, so skip this $900 early-adopter price and wait until Wi-Fi 8 is final and your devices support it.
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