Comcast is asserting a new version of its hexagon-shaped xFi Pods, the mesh Wi-Fi extender pods it sells to increase Wi-Fi networks round your own home, with extra Wi-Fi bandwidth (as much as 500Mbps, which it says is twice as quick) and a second wired Ethernet port on every pod as properly. (Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s father or mother firm.) The corporate initially began selling its Wi-Fi extender pods to consumers in 2018 in packs of three or six plugs, however the brand new ones are available packs of 1 or two.
Comcast is recommending one pod for a 3-4 bed room home, and two for five+ bedrooms or homes with thick partitions — which had been its identical suggestions for its 3-pack and 6-packs respectively, earlier than.
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Picture: Comcast
Much like its predecessor, the xFi Pods keep a six-sided polygonal design that plugs into an outlet, and also you pair them with an xFi Wi-fi Gateway or xFi Superior Gateway. The brand new xFi pods are tri-band Wi-Fi units, which ought to permit the system to keep up greater speeds when extra units are related to your router, and that is perhaps a bonus over some cheaper mesh routers that don’t have a 3rd Wi-Fi band for backhaul. However not like units like Google’s Nest Wifi and Point bundle or Amazon’s Eero mesh Wi-Fi systems, these units can’t change your main Wi-Fi router as properly. They’re designed for Comcast’s system.
The xFi Pods are available now, priced at $119 for one pod or $199 for a pack of two.
