Wi-Fi 6 is already a significant step up compared to previous wireless internet standards, with better performance even in densely populated apartment complexes or offices. There’s even Wi-Fi 6E already, which offers a better throughput thanks to its reliance on the 6GHz frequency rather than 5GHz or 2.4GHz. And to make matters just a bit more complicated, the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced another iteration of the standard during CES 2022, Wi-Fi 6 Release 2. It promises more energy efficiency and even better performance when dealing with increased device and traffic density.

A highlight of Release 2 is certainly support for uplink multi-user MIMO, allowing connected devices to upload content concurrently to an access point like a router. That makes for faster and more reliable uploads from multiple people at the same time, and it will also improve latency for games and video conferencing.

For those who have dozens of smart home devices littered throughout their house, Wi-Fi 6 Release 2 brings power consumption improvements. Devices that use the new standard can rely on new low-power and sleep modes, which is particularly interesting for battery-powered products.

Wi-Fi 6 Release 2’s features apply across all of the standard’s supported bands, including 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz. This is important as all three have their own use cases, with 2.4GHz often still remaining the only option in low-power smart home devices, given that it’s the cheapest technology and the one with the highest range.

The battery consumption improvements will mostly help smart home devices, but it’s safe to assume that smartphones will also benefit ever so slightly from the slew of improvements coming with Wi-Fi 6 Release 2.

Given that Wi-Fi 6 was supposed to be a new beginning for the convoluted and complicated naming scheme Wi-Fi previously relied on, converting the unintuitive Wi-Fi n/ac/ax scheme into the logically progressing Wi-Fi 4, 5, and 6, it's a bummer we're once again left with a system that has us scratching our heads what is what, with Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 6 Release 2 coexisting. It's especially disheartening that Wi-Fi 6 Release 2 is meant to enhance both Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, making it even more difficult to grasp.