Retail Wi-Fi 8 goods may be available as early as summer 2026, while Wi-Fi 7 adoption is increasing among businesses. The goal of Wi-Fi 8 is to reduce latency and increase dependability in crowded, interference-prone areas.
In 2025, the Wi-Fi 7 wireless protocol gained traction, but Wi-Fi 8 is following closely behind.
2025 was undoubtedly a significant year for the deployment of Wi-Fi 7. The final draft of the standard was released in September 2024, and the official IEEE 802.11be standard was published in July 2025. Since then, acceptance has been strong in every industry.
According to data from IDC Research, Jeff Platon, vice president of marketing at Wi-Fi Alliance, told Network World that an estimated 583 million Wi-Fi 7 devices are scheduled to ship globally by the end of 2025.
Enterprise Wi-Fi 7 adoption takes off
Businesses are already adopting Wi-Fi 7 more quickly than earlier generations after a sluggish start.
According to information provided by Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, shipments of Wi-Fi 7 access points increased from 26.3 million in 2024 to an estimated 66.5 million in 2025. With 117.9 million Wi-Fi 7 AP shipments anticipated in 2026, ABI Research predicts that this trend will continue to pick up speed.
The early reluctance for enterprise adoption of Wi-Fi 7 was reasonable, according to Chris Szymanski, director of product marketing for wireless broadband communications at Broadcom.
According to Szymanski, “the enterprise market had to adjust to a shorter interval between equipment releases, and it was hungry to adopt Wi-Fi 6E because Wi-Fi 7 came only a short time following the launch of Wi-Fi 6E.” In 2024, adoption was a little slower as a result. Businesses are now swiftly implementing Wi-Fi 7.
This acceleration is supported by the numbers. 196.1 million IoT devices, 22.3 million healthcare devices, and 159.4 million consumer devices are among the 1.1 billion Wi-Fi 7 gadgets that the Wi-Fi Alliance predicts will be shipped in 2026.
The movement is being spearheaded by educational institutions and large public venues. According to Platon, these industries view Wi-Fi 7 as both an enabler of new use cases and a solution to the problems associated with spectrum congestion.
Wi-Fi 8 arrives ahead of schedule
However, Wi-Fi 8 is probably going to be the main story for 2026. Consumer devices may be available considerably sooner than expected in a development that deviates from standard wireless generation timetables.
According to Szymanski, “Broadcom launched a full ecosystem of Wi-Fi 8 products in October 2025.” “We anticipate that the retail market will respond swiftly to this product’s availability, and the market may see Wi-Fi 8 devices as early as Summer 2026.”
This timeline shows a notable acceleration. With a goal standard approval date of September 2028, the IEEE 802.11bn Task Group was established in May 2021. Wi-Fi 8 retail products should be available before the standard is completed thanks to Broadcom’s ecosystem launch.
The time between the release of Wi-Fi 7 and the possible mid-2026 launch of Wi-Fi 8 products may be less than the usual interval between Wi-Fi generations.
The enterprise and operator markets will follow a more conventional adoption trend, even though consumer adoption may occur earlier. Szymanski stated, “It is likely that such devices will not launch until mid to late 2027.” Due to longer refresh cycles and procurement procedures, these industries usually move more cautiously.
What’s driving Wi-Fi 8 development?
A change in the evolution of Wi-Fi is represented by the IEEE 802.11bn standard.
Wi-Fi 8 concentrates on enhancing real-world performance in crowded, interference-prone areas rather than just pursuing higher peak speeds.
Fundamentally, Wi-Fi 8 places a high priority on reliable performance in difficult circumstances. While aiming for increases in actual throughput, decreased latency for time-sensitive applications, and less packet loss, the standard keeps the same theoretical maximum data rate as Wi-Fi 7.
Platon claims that ultra-high reliability, constrained latency, quicker throughput, and lower battery consumption are among the Wi-Fi Alliance’s top priorities for the upcoming generation.
According to Platon, “interest in the next generation of Wi-Fi is already increasing, emphasizing the crucial role Wi-Fi plays in global connection.”
Wi-Fi offload gains traction
Wi-Fi offloading is another trend that is gaining traction in addition to the switch between wireless generations. As they attempt to enhance client connectivity, mobile carriers are under increasing strain from the growing volume of traffic on cellular networks.
According to Rodrigues, “a number of developments will act to accelerate investments into Wi-Fi offloading in 2026.”
Wi-Fi offloading is being used by smart cities to give locals and visitors constant, free connectivity. Applications such as disaster prevention systems and intelligent traffic management are made possible by the technology.
This trend is anticipated to pick up speed in 2026 because to advancements in OpenRoaming technology, which will make seamless network roaming more common and feasible.
According to Rodrigues, “mobile operators will enhance their Wi-Fi offloading capabilities due to the problem of managing ever-increasing traffic on their cellular networks and the necessity to improve connectivity experiences for their customers.”
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