Does Wi-Fi 7 really need to be used

Outline Wi-Fi 7.

Consider Wi-Fi 7 to be what Wi-Fi 6E was to Wi-Fi 5. Like Wi-Fi 6E it still uses the 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands for operation but it does better thanks to more potential bandwidth (faster downloads), connection bundling across bands (faster downloads and more reliability) and increased use of signal modulation techniques to alleviate congestion. 

Fortunately 8K video is one of the features that Wi-Fi 7 is promoting. This makes me a little dubious. A compressed 8K broadcast would be small enough for the majority of current routers to manage even if 8K streaming were widely used. In fact Wi-Fi 7's raw speed is its most noticeable advantage right now.

Will Wi-Fi 7 be faster is it true?

Yes its true. An Intel report states that a typical laptop with Wi-Fi 7 might reach a theoretical potential maximum of about 5.8Gbps. But for most people even half that amount would be excessive.

Channel bandwidth or the diameter of the conduit that data is forced through is mostly what speeds it up. On Wi-Fi 7 maximum channel bandwidth is raised to 320MHz from 160MHz on upgraded Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 6E routers. More data can fit in these larger cables. That's really simple but those large channels are only supported by the 6GHz band, the 5GHz band isn't big enough.

Furthermore Wi-Fi 7 doubles the quantity of MU-MIMO spatial streams. Simultaneous streams from and to other devices in parallel. 8 x 8 MU-MIMO is supported by Wi-Fi 6. This implies that a router with eight antennas can communicate with eight devices (or one device with eight antennae) and send up to eight streams simultaneously to each device. It's 16 x 16 for Wi-Fi 7 but don't get too positive. Even expensive models like Netgear's Nighthawk RAXE500, consumer-grade Wi-Fi 6E routers typically provide 4 x 4 MU-MIMO even though the 6E standard can support more. Also it's difficult to locate Wi-Fi-capable phones, laptops or other devices that perform better than 2 x 2 MU-MIMO.

Is it safe to trust my smart home with Wi-Fi 7?

One major cause of wireless transmission blockages is airtime if the router is spending too much time conversing with one or more devices (depending on the protocol being used) other devices competing for its attention will have to wait for it to conclude. It takes place in a matter of microseconds but if network traffic is heavy enough that duration may increase. One possible explanation for slow smart home appliances could be because they're waiting for their turn.

Wi-Fi 7 uses OFDMA technology to try and make up for this by packing more data into a carrier wave. Wi-Fi 6E can also accomplish this however even if the interference only occupies a small portion of the wave it can still prevent the device from using the entire spectrum. Like a river circling a rock and meeting again on the other side Wi-Fi 7 essentially ignores the interference and places the remaining data on the clean sections.

Because OFDMA isn't backward-compatible with earlier devices for example a Wi-Fi 7 router will meet a smart home device that only supports Wi-Fi 4 by utilising that standard's capabilities. As a result everyone else will have to wait in line.  Therefore yes Wi-Fi 7 can improve your smart home but only after you've switched to the new standard if everything hasn't switched to Matter-over-Thread by then.

What other uses will Wi-Fi 7 have?

Additionally, Wi-Fi 7's MLO and OFDMA may result in less network slowness. With advanced signal modulation and simultaneous connections to many bands there may be fewer instances where your devices are waiting in the list for other network requests to be processed. 

When will my gadgets be upgraded to Wi-Fi 7?

You may now purchase Wi-Fi 7 routers as I mentioned earlier. But since the standard is still in its early phases of development and only a tiny number of devices are compatible with it you shouldn't purchase  rightnow. However the chips are already available.Qualcomm released the FastConnect 7800 mobile wireless chipset in 2022, it is currently found in several phones including the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. However in order for those phones to function with Qualcomm's FastConnect 7800 Samsung must enable Wi-Fi 7.

The 16-inch Acer Swift Edge laptop is also Wi-Fi 7 compatible and Intel's BE200 Wi-Fi 7 network card will likely be available by the end of 2023. The other big manufacturers should begin to release additional PCs that meet the standard during the course of the following year.

Therefore should I wait or buy a Wi-Fi 7 router now?

You should wait if you're expecting Wi-Fi 7 to solve every issue with your network. Since there are so few devices that support it and the spec is incomplete, it would take months or possibly years before you saw any benefits. Delaying until the specification is complete and the Wi-Fi Alliance begins certifying Wi-Fi 7 routers will also help ensure that the device is fully compliant with the final standard. Until then, those routers are probably too costly and there aren't enough wireless devices that enable their advanced features to justify the price.