Samsung Electronics has said that its 2021 8K TVs are the first in the world to be certified for Wi-Fi 6E, a new Wi-Fi spec that supports the 6GHz broadband spectrum.
The South Korean firm was also the first TV brand to add support for the original Wi-Fi 6 specification last year, enabling faster gigabit speeds, higher capacity and lower latency connections on its compatible televisions.
The Wi-Fi 6E specification is an update to that earlier spec that adds support for the 6GHz frequency, in addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies that were already supported in Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6.
The 6GHz frequency is being rolled out in many countries around the world this year, including the U.K. and the U.S. Basically, it frees up a ton of new space for connected devices such as smartphones and routers, creating more bandwidth and eliminating a lot of interference that has been responsible for slower-than-expected internet connections. The best thing about 6GHz is that because so much space is being made available on the spectrum, it won’t require any overlapping signals like some current Wi-Fi channels. A report in The Verge from last year notes that 6GHz has enough space for up to seven maximum-capacity Wi-Fi streams to broadcast simultaneously without interfering with one another.
The Wi-Fi 6E spec was announced last year by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which is a group of Wi-Fi platform vendors that works with the industry to implement standards for the technology. It said at the time that Wi-Fi 6E will work with any IEE 802.11ax products that support the 6GHz spectrum.
Now, Samsung has said that its new 8K Neo QLED TVs will be among those IEE 802.11ax products. The Samsung QN900A and QN800A TVs will therefore be able to support larger bandwidth loads, process multi-gigabit data faster and enable much lower latency. The result, Samsung said, will be a faster, more reliable and more secure connection on those TVs.
“Wi-Fi 6E, a new standard in connected technology, offers Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV owners not only four times faster connectivity, but also stable and reliable data transfers – even when multiple devices are connected to one router – perfect for those who enjoy immersive high-definition OTT content,” Samsung said.
Samsung said Wi-Fi 6E is a timely addition to its 8K TVs because they are rapidly evolving into “connectivity hubs” for numerous devices, and that means there’s a much higher demand for high data capacity.
“Whether streaming 4K and 8K high-definition videos or enjoying VR content and high-performance games, Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K TVs with Wi-Fi 6E support are for consumers looking for premium viewing experiences at home,” the company added.
Samsung indicated that it’s planning to bring Wi-Fi 6E support to its other TV models later. While its 2021 4K TV lineup will only support the older Wi-Fi 5 standard at launch, Samsung says WI-Fi 6E will be further implemented into “existing and future TV portfolios” at a later time.
