Katarzyna Petru
MediaTek revealed in its latest whitepaper that the upcoming Wi-Fi 8 standard will focus primarily on connection reliability, rather than record speeds. The new technology is set to debut only in late 2027, replacing the current Wi-Fi 7, which has just begun to hit the market.
Ultra High Reliability instead of Extremely High Throughput
The company plans to commercialize Wi-Fi 8 under the slogan “Ultra High Reliability” – in contrast to the current standard Wi-Fi 7, which is referred to as “Extremely High Throughput.” In practice, this means a focus on stable connections, lower latency, and greater range, rather than just an increase in throughput. The implementation of mmWave technology is also considered, which in theory could raise Wi-Fi throughput to as much as 100 Gb/s.
Single Mobility Domains – seamless switching between points
One of the key improvements will be Single Mobility Domains, which is the ability to move between multiple access points without even a second of interruption in connection. This solution could become a standard in large offices, airports, or hospitals. It will also improve performance at the edge of coverage, where current networks often lose signal.
Better Streaming, VR, and Wireless Decoders
Wi-Fi 8 is expected to provide better video streaming quality, smoother cloud gaming (Xbox Cloud, GeForce Now), and seamless VR content streaming to devices like Apple Vision Pro. The new standard may also enable decoders and other video devices to operate completely without HDMI cables.
Energy Savings and Possible Changes in Plans
MediaTek emphasizes that an important goal will also be reducing energy consumption by Wi-Fi devices. However, it should be noted that the specification is not yet final – some announced features may be dropped from the plans, while others may emerge. Also in play is "coordinated Multi-AP" – a protocol that allows routers in the same mesh network to coordinate data transmission, improving efficiency in homes and offices with a large number of devices.
