Is 802.11 ac outdated?

Is 802.11ac outdated? Honestly, I wrestled with this myself just last year. I mean, you see all the flashy ads for Wi-Fi 6, right? Makes you wonder if your perfectly good router is suddenly a dinosaur.

But the truth is, 802.11ac isn't outdated outdated. Think of it like this: my old flip phone. Sure, it doesn't take selfies or stream TikTok, but it makes calls and sends texts perfectly fine. That's 802.11ac in a nutshell. It's not the fastest, no, Wi-Fi 6 is definitely quicker, like a sports car compared to my trusty old Honda. But 802.11ac is still plenty fast for most things, you know? Streaming Netflix? Totally fine. Browsing the internet? No problem. Even gaming, unless you're a super hardcore gamer with lightning-fast reflexes and incredibly low latency demands, works pretty well.

It's super common too, so finding compatible devices isn't a headache. Remember when I tried to get a smart speaker a couple years ago and half the models didn’t work with my Wi-Fi 6-enabled router, because they hadn't been updated yet? That was a nightmare! 802.11ac avoids that problem. Plus, it’s cheaper. Let’s be real, sometimes you just don’t need the bleeding edge technology, especially when the older stuff still does the job, and your wallet thanks you for it. So yeah, if you're on a budget or don't have a ton of Wi-Fi hungry devices, sticking with 802.11ac is totally reasonable. It’s got life in it yet!