ASUS RT-BE96U

Worth comparing29 of 79 listed here

A Wi-Fi 7 device uses two bands at the same time over one connection, instead of picking one and living with it.

Look at instead: whether your phone and laptop are Wi-Fi 7 — nothing older can use this

Table stakes50 of 79 listed here

Splits a channel into smaller slices so several devices are served in the same instant instead of taking turns.

Look at instead: streams per radio and channel width — those set the ceiling OFDMA divides up

Table stakes46 of 79 listed here

Lets the router hold separate conversations with several devices at once using different antenna streams.

Look at instead: the stream count on each radio — a 4×4 radio has twice the streams of a 2×2 to hand out

Table stakes37 of 79 listed here

Shapes the signal toward where a device actually is, rather than radiating evenly in every direction like a bare bulb.

Look at instead: where you physically put the router — placement beats every antenna trick on this list

Depends on your setup16 of 79 listed here

Nudges a device onto the faster band when it would otherwise settle on the slow one and stay there.

Look at instead: whether the router lets you split the bands into separate networks — some devices need that

Depends on your setup18 of 79 listed here

Extra 5 GHz channels shared with weather and military radar, which the router must abandon the moment it hears one.

Look at instead: whether your neighbourhood is actually congested, and whether the router lets you turn DFS off

Table stakes47 of 79 listed here

A double-width channel that roughly doubles throughput when the airwaves are clear enough to sustain it.

Look at instead: whether the band has room for it — on 5 GHz that almost always means DFS

Worth comparing23 of 79 listed here

Wi-Fi 7's double-again channel width, available only on 6 GHz, where there is finally enough spectrum to fit it.

Look at instead: whether you own 6 GHz devices, and whether they will be in the same room as the router