Wifi 8 is coming in 2028 with concepts coming out now. The IEEE is calling it “Ultra High Reliability,” something that’s a welcome shift, especially for those battling the usual challenges in manufacturing.
Anyone running a plant or warehouse knows the problem hasn’t been throughput since maybe the very earliest installs. Instead, it’s usually the scan gun that drops mid-pallet, the handheld that clings to a far access point instead of roaming, or the sensor that goes quiet behind a rack of steel. And on top of that, we keep adding devices (sensors, handhelds, IoT, displays) to these environments to feed our incessant thirst for more data.
While peak speeds and channel widths are consistent with wifi 7 the stated goals shifted to 25% better throughput when signal is weak or interference is high, 25% lower latency in worst-case scenarios, and 25% less packet loss.
▪ New modulation options and distributed-tone resource units which give low-power devices like sensors and handhelds a more reliable link ▪ Real multi-access-point coordination plus the ability to transmit on secondary channels when the primary is busy ▪ Seamless roaming between access points so movement stops meaning dropped connections
Cellular has been gaining steam, but the IEEE is openly positioning this against 6G which won’t land until the early 2030s. If wifi 8 gear ships in 2028 as expected, it may be a quicker move for the plant floor reliability problem years before cellular gets there. Considering how fast things are moving, it’s worth watching closely.