We’ve just written about Realtek 5 Gbps Ethernet chips, but the company also has some roadmaps for WiFi 6 and WiFi 7 router chips, and a WiFi 7 client module demonstrated at COMPUTEX 2023.
The company’s roadmap include five WiFi 7 router solutions:
- WiFi 7 BE6500 router with a Realtek 8198DS dual Arm core processor @ 1.2 GHz with an RTL8952AR 2×2 MIMO 5 GHz and 6 GHz chip, RTL8902A 2×2 2.4 GHz chip, and an RTL8221B 2.5GbE PHY
- WiFi 7 BE9400 router with a Realtek 8198DS dual Arm core processor @ 1.2 GHz with an RTL8952AR 2×2 MIMO 5 GHz chip, RTL8902A 2×2 2.4 GHz chip, an RTL8934AR 4×4 MIMO 6 GHz chip, and an RTL8221B 2.5GbE PHY
- WiFi 7 BE3400 router with a Realtek 8198DS dual Arm core processor @ 1.2 GHz with an RTL8952AR 2×2 MIMO 5 GHz chip, and an RTL8221B 2.5GbE PHY
- WiFi 7 BE6400 router with a Realtek 8198DS dual Arm core processor @ 1.2 GHz with an RTL8934A 2×2 MIMO 5 GHz chip, RTL8192XBR 2×2 MIMO 2.4 GHz chip, and an RTL8221B 2.5GbE PHY
- WiFi 7 BE7200 router with a Realtek 8198DS dual Arm core processor @ 1.2 GHz with an RTL8934A 2×2 MIMO 5 GHz chip, RTL8192XAR 4×4 MIMO 2.4 GHz chip, and an RTL8221B 2.5GbE PHY
The routers would come with 256MB or 512MB RAM and an AI engine with all supporting the same unified SDK.
But not everybody will need WiFi 7, and mainstream routers now support WiFi 6, so Realtek provides solutions for WiFi 6 routers supporting from AX1500 to AX5400 speeds, some with Gigabit Ethernet, and the others with 2.5GbE networking. Most are based on the Realtek RTL8198D dual or triple-core Arm processor with 128MB or 256MB RAM, but the top AX5400GE model features the Realtek RTL8192XB quad-core Arm processor.
The company also designed the RTL9822A WiFI 7 chip for clients supporting up to 2880 Mbps transfer rates at 5/6 GHz, plus Bluetooth 5.4, and 802.11az location/ranging support.
At least two modules are showcased at COMPUTEX 2023 with an M.2 2230 RTL8922AE WiFi module and a 1620 solder-down WiFi module.
The Realtek RTL8922A WiFi 7 chip was tested up to 1948 Mbps using the “Realtek Networking Thoughput” utility.
The photo below shows a WiFi 7 router board from Realtek and an RTL8922A demo board that was used for this test.
There’s virtually no public information about the new chips at this time, so we’ll have to wait for more details and products in the coming months or even next year since some WiFi 7 solutions are only scheduled to launch in Q3 2024.
Thanks to TLS for the photos from COMPUTEX 2023.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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As much as I like to see this innovation, and their logo was cute, you also have to take driver maintainership into account, and Realtech’s pattern of developing good enough drivers and then abandoning them so their products become unsupported / buggy [crabby] / insecure over time, has flushed my enthusiasm for their new products down the swirly porcelain… They really need to start keeping their drivers current.
I guess there is not a single realtek router supported ny openwrt…