Linksys says its Velop Pro 7 mesh router is so good you won't need an app - The Verge

The Velop Pro 7 three-pack.

Image: Linksys

Linksys has released the Velop Pro 7, its newest Wi-Fi 7 mesh router, which it says is so smart, it can fix itself — and it’s convinced enough of this that it plans to phase out its router management app. Like the Velops before it, you can buy Linksys’ new kit one at a time or in two- or- three-pack configurations. The router costs $399.99 for one, $749.99 for two, or $999.99 for three.

This is usually where I would tell you about the specs. But first, we need to talk about the app thing. While briefing me on its new routers, Linksys said its customers have overwhelmingly told it that they just don’t like needing to use an app to manage their network, so it’s looking to phase it out. It won’t happen immediately, but that’s the goal. What the company proposes, instead, is that it handles network management for you.

A close-up of the Velop Pro 7’s top.

Image: Linksys

Linksys says its router can take care of itself using “cognitive computing” — a concept the IEEE summarizes as “the imitation of the thought process of human beings using a sophisticated computerized model.” Machine learning, basically. The company told me it uses this approach instead of AI because people don’t trust AI. In the interest of briskness, I will just acknowledge that when companies use the term “AI,” they’re often also talking about cognitive computing.

If Linksys’ cognitive system fails to fix what’s ailing it, though, users can flag a problem with its support app. Linksys support will then remotely diagnose the problem and either fix what’s wrong or tell the user why it can’t (say, your ISP is the problem, or you need to check that your modem is plugged in).

What is Wi-Fi 7?

Wi-Fi 7 is the next version of Wi-Fi to follow Wi-Fi 6E. Like Wi-Fi 6E, the protocol works on the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands, and it’s backward-compatible with devices that precede it. Wi-Fi 7 promises faster throughput through features like 320MHz channel bandwidth, which is twice what’s offered on Wi-Fi 6E; Multi-Link Operation, which combines bands into a single, faster, and more stable connection; and improved interference handling.

The standard hasn’t yet been finalized, however, and there are no client devices — phones, laptops, and so forth — that support it, putting current Wi-Fi 7 routers very firmly in the early adopter market. Still, there may be some benefits from using Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems, which will be able to take advantage of the features listed above for faster, more stable wireless backhaul connections between nodes.

To some degree, I get it. Network troubleshooting is a pain. The idea of a router system that manages itself is great. And router apps are often just so bad.

But I’m leery of claims of self-healing tech that you don’t need to fix. As much as I don’t like most of them, router smartphone apps can be accessible and even pleasant when done right, and at least minimally useful for troubleshooting. The idea of sending up the digital equivalent of a signal flare and having to wait on Linksys support to get back to me sounds like hell.

I have to hope the company will still offer a browser interface for those of us who still want to do our own troubleshooting. I reached back out to Linksys to ask for more information about its post-app router world and will update here when I hear back.

Four gigabit ethernet ports and a 2.5Gbps WAN port.

Image: Linksys

Under the hood of the Velop Pro 7

Okay, so I promised specs. In terms of design, the Linksys Velop Pro 7 continues the ongoing tradition of air freshener chic white obelisks the line is known for. Each node has a 2.5Gbps WAN port (the one that goes to your modem or that you might use to connect mesh nodes) and four gigabit ethernet ports. The company says the Pro 7 is good for about 3,000 square feet of coverage per node. A whole system can handle up to 200 connected devices, too, according to Linksys.

The Pro 7 also has Wi-Fi 7 features like Multi-Link Operation, which lets the router connect to another device across multiple bands for faster throughput but also serves as a stability measure — if your 6GHz goes down, you’ve still got your 5GHz band to fall back on. It can also use up to 320MHz channel bandwidth on the 6GHz band, which doubles that of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers, and that means more throughput for devices that support it (of which there are currently zero).

Those sound like decent specs and a nice intro-level Wi-Fi 7 kit, inasmuch as this early adopter tech can be. The Velop Pro 7 is very pricey but maybe not outrageous when compared to the TP-Link Deco BE85 or the Eero Max 7, both of which will run you hundreds more for a three-pack than a $999 trio of Wi-Fi 7 Velops. But like I said in my Wi-Fi 7 explainer, you just don’t need a Wi-Fi 7 router now. The spec isn’t final yet, which could mean missing features or a less optimized router down the line. You can buy it today, but frankly, you should probably wait on a review or three.

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