ASUS ZenWiFi XT9

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 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

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 comparing3 of 79 listed here

A radio reserved for traffic between mesh nodes, so your devices are not sharing airtime with the mesh itself.

Look at instead: whether you can run Ethernet between the nodes — wired backhaul beats every wireless arrangement