Spiria logo.

Wi-Fi version numbers

October 3, 2018.

The Wi-Fi Alliance’s logo for Wi-Fi 6.

The Wi-Fi Alliance’s logo for Wi-Fi 6. © iStock/Wifi Alliance.

The WiFi Alliance consortium has revised its naming conventions for Wi-Fi standards to make them easier to tell apart. Until now, the versions had convoluted names such as 802.11ac or 802.11g, which were difficult to memorize. Going forward, we’ll have a simpler, more intuitive version number, which will make it easier to tell that Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac, the current version) is more powerful and recent than Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n, the older standard dating back to 2009). The upcoming standard (802.11ax) will be rebranded Wi-Fi 6. Consumers will encounter these new naming conventions starting with the Wi-Fi 6 compatible routers being released over the next year.

The Verge, “Wi-Fi now has version numbers, and Wi-Fi 6 comes out next year.”