Google is now one step closer to releasing a next generation of its Nest Wifi mesh router, with the new model showing up at the FCC and revealing its Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.
Update 9/15: This router looks like it will be sold as the “Google Nest Wifi Pro.” A leak also confirms the availability of Wi-Fi 6E, no point unit, and a higher starting price.
Before a device with wireless connectivity can be released around the world, it needs to get approval from a variety of regulatory agencies, including the United States’ FCC. Luckily for us, the FCC makes aspects of each newly approved device available to the public, though the most interesting details are given temporary confidentiality.
In most cases involving recent Google devices, we’re left to try and puzzle together what the new gadget could be from the available clues, as was the case earlier this month. Today, however, we know a bit more about the device at hand.
A new Google device showed up at the FCC today with the model number “G6ZUC,” which we’ve confirmed is the model number for the upcoming successor to the Nest Wifi router. In the new listing, we find direct confirmation that the router’s primary upgrade is the addition of Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.
The previous Nest Wifi system only supported the older Wi-Fi 5 standard, despite releasing around the same time that Wi-Fi 6 devices began to arrive. Google is clearly remedying that missing spec — which in theory could get your network up to 9.6Gbps connection speed — while also going a step further by supporting Wi-Fi 6E.
The core difference between Wi-Fi 6 and 6E is the use of a third range of bandwidth, roughly between 6 GHz and 7 GHz. Generally speaking, Wi-Fi 6E shouldn’t have a direct impact on the potential speed of your home/office network. Instead, that 6 GHz band is typically less crowded, meaning there’s less potential for home devices to interfere with one another.
While direct support for Wi-Fi 6E is still a bit limited at this point — though the Pixel 6 series and most flagship Android phones from 2021 and newer are supported — the tech is actually excellently suited to being used in a Nest Wifi mesh router. If the extender points are also capable of connecting via Wi-Fi 6E, those devices should have a clearer signal to the main router, allowing for better “backhaul.”
That said, it’s not clear whether Google intends to sell dedicated Nest Wifi points that are compatible with Wi-Fi 6e. Thus far, there has only been evidence of Google developing this new Nest Wifi router, with no sign of a new speaker-equipped Nest Wifi point in the Google Home app’s code. Like the Google Wifi before it, though, you should be able to connect multiple routers together to form your mesh network.
According to the included paperwork, Google has requested that details of this Nest Wifi router be kept confidential by the FCC for the next six months. This strongly suggests we should see it launch by the end of the year, perhaps in a Nest or Made by Google themed event.
So far, Google has not announced any hardware events for this fall. That said, the company had quite a bit to tease this past May, with reveals of the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel Watch, and Pixel tablet, all but the last of which should be released by the end of the year.
More from Made by Google:
- Rumor has it a future Google Pixel smartphone could be made from ceramic
- The curious case of a would-be ‘Chromecast Audio’ successor
- How the Pixel tablet will replace your Google Nest Hub
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