Company releases first Wi-Fi 7 router before Wi-Fi 7 is even certified

(Image credit: H3C)

Chinese hardware manufacturer H3C has launched the "world's first Wi-Fi 7 router", the Magic BE18000. Even though Wi-Fi 7 still has not been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, that doesn't seem to bother H3C too much.

The H3C Magic BE18000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router is a wireless router that adopts Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) tech on a 6GHz band that can provide download speeds up to a ridiculous 18,443Mbps. That's significantly faster than even the recently released Wi-Fi 6, which maxes out at 9.6Gbps. It also looks like Bastion's head from Overwatch, which I consider a plus.

Wi-Fi 7 is expected to deliver a considerable speed advantage over Wi-Fi 6 (nearly double) since its new 6GHz bands support 320MHz ultra-large bandwidth, a benefit for home streaming and gaming.

Wi-Fi 7's most significant selling point is its Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which gives you low latency and better reliability by allowing devices to use multiple channels simultaneously. That results, so says H3C, in better speeds no matter how devices are connected.

Chip chillers

CPU Coolers — (Image credit: Corsair, Noctua)

Best CPU cooler: keep your chip chilled in style
Best PC fans: super-silent and plastered in RGB
Best PC cases: big, little, and everything in-between.

We expected Wi-Fi 7 to be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance in the latter half of 2023. Wireless gear getting released ahead of pre-approved standards isn't uncommon, though seeing a product this far ahead is a little surprising. This doesn't mean that the Magic BE18000 wouldn't meet those official standards; it just hasn't yet.

To receive certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance technologies need to meet industry-agreed standards for "interoperability, security, and a range of application-specific protocols," which involves a lot of testing and takes some time.

We already know that chip makers like Qualcomm has plans for Wi-Fi 7 with its own Wi-Fi 7 chip, which would also be ahead of the assumed Wi-Fi 7 certification.

Jorge is a hardware writer from the enchanted lands of New Jersey. When he's not filling the office with the smell of Pop-Tarts, he's reviewing all sorts of gaming hardware, from laptops with the latest mobile GPUs to gaming chairs with built-in back massagers. He's been covering games and tech for over ten years and has written for Dualshockers, WCCFtech, Tom's Guide, and a bunch of other places on the world wide web.