Ubiquiti today launched an all-new router, the AmpliFi Alien, which is Ubiquiti's first Wi-Fi 6 router. The router is on sale now for $379.
According to the company, the AmpliFi Alien allows you to increase your network capacity by 4x and boost coverage by 2x, all while reducing battery drain on mobile devices. It's powered by 8x8 MIMO Wi-Fi 6 technology, so a single AmpliFi Alien router provides greater range and speeds than previous single AmpliFi routers.
The router includes 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Wi-Fi 6 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5 radios, delivering 7,685 Mbps total capacity and 16 spatial streams from one single AmpliFi Alien unit. Although the new router isn't specifically a mesh system, the company did note that you can mesh multiple Alien units together to extend coverage if you have a large home.
In terms of dimensions, the AmpliFi Alien is 9.84 inches tall and about 4.3 inches wide, weighing 2.65 lbs. It also includes a 4.7-inch diagonal display with touch controls and haptics. Similar to the AmpliFi HD router, this display shows the current time, upload/download speeds, network status, and more.
Additional technical specifications can be found below:
- Max. TX Power - 2.4 GHz: 23 dBm per chain, 5 GHz 19 dBm per chain (low band)/ 20 dBm per chain (high band)
- MIMO - 2.4 GHz: 4x4 5 GHz: 4x4 (low-band) + 8x8 (high band)
- Speed - 2.4 GHz: 1148 Mbps, 5 GHz: 1733 Mbps (low band)/ 4804 Mbps (high band)
- Networking Interface - Wi-Fi; Gigabit Ethernet: (1) WAN, (4) LAN
- Max. Power Consumption - 35W
- ESD/EMP Protection - ± 24kV Air/Contact
- Antennas - (1) Internal Dual-Band Metal Stamp with 12 Polarity
- Display - 110.38 mm (4.7") Diagonal, 274 x 1268, 279 ppi, G+F Touch, Full Color
- Wi-Fi Standards - Up to Wi-Fi 6
- Wireless Security - WPA2
On the back of the router are four Gigabit LAN Ethernet ports and one Gigabit WAN port, along with the power supply. Setup of the router takes place in the connected AmpliFi app, and can be done in under a minute, similar to previous AmpliFi devices with quick setups. Also in the app include parental controls, guest access, ISP and system performance stats, and more.
Although many consumer devices don't yet support Wi-Fi 6, Apple's iPhone 11 lineup does support the next generation standard. When in use, Wi-Fi 6 provides faster connection speeds to connected devices, particularly in crowded areas. The standard is just now beginning to roll out to routers and various smartphones and computers in late 2019, and is expected to be more widely available in the coming years.
Visit AmpliFi's website for more information on the Alien router. For those interested, it's available for $379 beginning today.
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Top Rated Comments
At $375 a pop that would be one very high priced mesh . Been waiting for a WPA 3 ( and WiFi6 ) solution to drop from Amplifi but didn't plan on budget that big just to close up WPA2's problems.
Given there is a separate WiFi 5 "channel" meshing up an HD would be more cost effective but not uniform.