D-Link CES 2018 lineup revealed: A trove of cameras and routers , II D-Link introduces its first 802.11ax routers , II D-Link Is Trying To Make Smart Homes Less Annoying

D-Link today announced two home networking devices based on the IEEE 802.11ax standard at CES Monday: the AX6000 and the AX1100 Ultra Wi-Fi routers. And here you thought 802.11ac was the latest and greatest.
The AX6000 is a dual-band router that D-Link says will deliver up to 6,000Mbps of bandwidth—hence the name AX6000. The AX11000, meanwhile, is a tri-band device that promises 11,000Mbps. But those massive numbers are purely theoretical and unlikely to ever be seen in the real world.

D-Link showed up to CES 2018 in Las Vegas with a bunch of new products in tow, with many of them focused on connectivity around the house. In all, the company announced three new routers, a new mesh networking system, and five new security cameras at the show, so it certainly had quite the stockpile on hand.

Routers

Perhaps the biggest reveal D-Link made today was for its new AC2600 WiFi Router Powered by McAfee (DIR-2680). Developed in response to the growing number of the devices connecting to the internet and the need to keep these IoT networks safe, this dual-band 802.11ac router uses McAfee’s Global Threat Intelligence to identify and correct malware and other malicious attacks before it has a chance to infect the devices connected to your network.
This protection extends to non-display devices connected to your network and makes use of machine learning to get better at detecting threats over time. It actually requires two different apps as well, using the D-Link WiFi app for set up and the McAfee Secure Home Platform app for remote management.

The DIR-2680 also uses an Intel Home WiFi chipset, which can support and eye-watering 128 connected devices at once while at the same time leaving the AnyWAN SoC free to focus on security functions. D-Link hasn’t announced a price yet – but expect it to be expensive – with the DIR-2680 launching sometime in Q2 2018.

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Then again, if you think you’ve got security taken care of already, the mesh networking products D-Link announced today might be the more exciting reveal out of all of these. These mesh networking systems are being released under D-Link’s Covr brand and come in two varieties: a dual-band, three pack system and a tri-band, two pack system. The tri-band system offers AC2200 WiFi and is capable of covering 6,000 square feet, while the dual-band system provides AC1200 WiFi to an area up to 5,000 square feet.

Regardless of the model you choose, you’ll get smart roaming, which allows you to transition between nodes without having to manually switch your connection (a must with any mesh networking system worth its salt) and smart steering, which will automatically move connections between bands for optimum speeds.
As with most mesh networking systems we see these days, these ones from D-Link come with a fairly hefty price tag – the dual-band three pack will set you back $249.99, while the tri-band two pack will cost $319.99. We’ll see the dual-band system launch in Q1 2018, while its more expensive brother will launch in Q2.

Those mesh networking products are joined by the AX6000 and the AX11000 Ultra WiFi Routers. Their names clue us into their max speeds, with the former being capable of achieving combined speeds of 6,000 Mbps and the latter topping out at 11,000 Mbps. As you’d expect, those speeds require the appropriate LAN ports, with one 2.5 Gbps WAN pout and four Gigabit LAN ports present on each router.
Aside from the fact that both routers support 4×4 MU-MIMO, details on these devices are fairly slim at the moment. Then again, routers are pretty straightforward in general, so what D-Link has already revealed gives us a good idea of what to expect. The most important detail – pricing – is nowhere to be found, but we can expect both of these to launch in the second half of 2018.

Security Cameras

Next, we come to the array of security cameras D-Link revealed today. Perhaps the most noteworthy is its LTE Indoor/Outdoor Camera (DCS-1820LH). While most of your security cameras will probably have access to WiFi where ever you put them up, the 1820LH is meant to fill the gaps. Whether that’s as a temporary security camera or as a camera for a corner of your property where there isn’t any internet access is up to you. The camera will connect to Verizon’s LTE network, but for the moment, there’s no word on how much that’ll run you in terms of monthly cost.

The LTE camera was announced side-by-side with the Wire-Free Indoor/Outdoor camera. Both cameras are capable of recording in 1080p to local storage or to the cloud, and both are compatible with third-party IoT services like Google Assistant, Alexa, and IFTTT. We’ll see these launch in Q2 2018, with the LTE camera running $299.99 and the Wire-Free camera starting at $249.99.
Finally, we arrive at D-Link’s selection of more standard WiFi cameras, which are aimed at the person who wants home monitoring but doesn’t want to shell out for the more expensive cameras we just detailed. Like their more costly counterparts, these cameras offer local or cloud recording along with support for Google Assistant, Alexa, and IFTTT. These are decidedly not for outdoor use, as they don’t feature any kind of weatherproofing – for that, you’ll want the Indoor/Outdoor cameras D-Link revealed today.

Though you’re limited to indoor use with these cameras, you’ll find their prices much more palatable. The most basic version records in 720p and offers a 120-degree field-of-view for $59.99. The mid-range version records in 1080p with a 140-degree FOV for $89.99, while the top-end camera again records in 1080p, though offers a 340-degree pan range and a 110-degree tilt range for $119.99. All three cameras will launch in Q2 2018.

 

Not fully baked

D-Link

The D-Link AX11000 Ultra Wi-Fi Router.

Before we go any further with the fancy features of these new 802.11ax routers let’s rewind back to 802.11ac for a second. While you’ll soon be hearing a lot about 802.11ax, 802.11ac Wi-Fi is still the latest and greatest wireless networking standard.

[ Further reading: The best wireless routers ]

That’s because 802.11ax isn’t fully baked yet. We’ve spoken to several vendors here at CES and the consensus is it’s not quite ready for prime time. Currently the Wi-Fi Alliance’s website lists 802.11ax as being in early development. The Wi-Fi Alliance’s vice president of marketing also told CNET a few days ago that 802.11ax chips aren’t expected to roll out until later in 2018.
In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if the final 802.11ax specification was pushed into 2019. New Wi-Fi standards tend to be spaced years apart as ratification and interoperability testing takes time. 802.11ac was finalized in 2013, for example, and before that 802.11n was published in 2009.
As far as D-Link’s routers are concerned, while they are depending on a wireless standard that isn’t finished yet there is enough technical information to design a router that adheres to 802.11ax in its current state. Presumably, D-Link expects to send these routers firmware updates once 802.11ax is finalized to cover any gaps these newer routers might have.
D-Link is also further hedging its bets since the AX6000 and AX11000 aren’t expected to roll out until the second half of 2018—likely after those AX chips are available. Pricing was not announced.
So what’s so great about 802.11ax? If you have a lot of devices at home—and you probably do—then this new wireless standard is something to get excited about. While 802.11ax does introduce a boost in speeds, as all new wireless standards do, the real appeal is its ability to more efficiently handle large amounts of traffic.
The upcoming standard expands on the current state of 4x4 MU-MIMO (multi-user, multiple input and multiple ouput) to 8x8 MU-MIMO on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. That means that an AX router will be able to supply eight data streams both up and down for your home network. The end result being a more efficient network that can better handle traffic from the PC playing Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds in the den, while the Apple TV sucks down 4K Netflix in the living room, and the teenagers upstairs are swapping Snapchat pics and videos on their phones.
To that end, D-Link’s AX6000 and AX11000 come packing eight high-performance antennas, although at launch the routers are only supporting 4x4 MU-MIMO. The boxes also have one 2.5Gbps WAN port, and four Gigabit LAN ports, DLNA support, and a USB 3.0 port if you want to hook up some networked storage. D-Link says it will also roll out a new mobile app for an easier Wi-Fi network setup process.
D-Link CES 2018 lineup revealed: A trove of cameras and routers , II D-Link introduces its first 802.11ax routers , II D-Link Is Trying To Make Smart Homes Less Annoying

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