Whether following a digital recipe in the kitchen, reading an ebook in bed, or playing video games in the basement, folks rely on their home Wi-Fi network to keep them connected.
But wireless signals are often obstructed by walls and other objects, making it tough to surf the Web on the second floor when the router is on the first. So Linksys today introduced Velop, a modular mesh Wi-Fi system that uses Tri-Band technology to eliminate bottlenecking and provide Internet throughout the home.
Available in one-, two-, or three-pack options (for $200, $350, and $500, respectively), Velop's all-in-one "nodes" serve as router, range extender, access point, and bridge. The 7-inch-tall towers stand on any flat surface—shelf, countertop, or floor. Six antennas hidden inside push signal up and down, as well as left and right, to improve Wi-Fi performance.
"If you are paying for 100Mbps from your Internet service provider, then you want to get all that speed in every corner of your house," Justin Doucette, senior director of product management at Linksys, said in a statement.
An accompanying app for Android and iOS lets users manage guest access, parental controls, device prioritization, and more. Velop also taps into Amazon Alexa, allowing folks to activate guest access and get main network credentials via voice commands.
"Velop is a union of performance, design, and ease-of-use and provides what everyone wants—seamless, reliable Wi-Fi," Chet Pipkin, CEO of parent company Belkin International, said in a statement. "Linksys has set the bar for true mesh networking systems."
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Velop will go up against devices like the Eero, Ubiquiti Amplifi, and Luma.
Linksys today also revealed the new WRT32X gigabit gaming router, with a 1.8GHz dual-core processor and custom-built firmware and GUI tuned specifically for gaming traffic. Expected to hit shelves this spring, the $300 router is optimized for Alienware, MSI, Razer, Gigabyte PCs, and Xbox. For more, check out The Best Gaming ISPs of 2017.
Also coming this spring: the $200 Linksys Max-Stream AC2200 Tri-Band Multi-User MIMO gigabit router; $60 Linksys AC1200 USB MU-MIMO adapter; and $200 Linksys CM3132 DOCSIS 3.1 high-speed cable modem.