It seems that the Tom’s Guide Award-winning Google Nest WiFi is getting a Pro version, and it’s tipped to be coming very soon indeed.
While new hardware hasn’t been announced by Google, B&H (opens in new tab) has jumped the gun and listed several variants of a product called “Google Nest Wifi Pro 6E Router” on its website.
As the name suggests, the main difference is the introduction of the latest WiFi 6E standards, which means speeds of up to 9.6 Gbps in perfect conditions. But the real advantage is less about speed than the extra bandwidth provided, which should mean less interference between devices. That’s certainly handy for Google’s ever-expanding smarthome plans, with Nest-branded doorbells, thermostats, smoke alarms, smart speakers, smart screens and security cameras all fighting over the same bandwidth.
No pictures are provided, but it would be surprising if it were dramatically different to the “big plastic marshmallow” Brian Nadel described in our original Nest WiFi review.
Said review was pretty glowing, with Google offering the best mesh WiFi router around. “Google’s Nest WiFi mesh networking kit makes a virtue out of being small, while providing enough mesh networking performance for the typical home and an interactive extension speaker,” Nadel wrote. “Easy to set up and use, it’s the best mesh Wi-Fi system we’ve seen.”
The new version will apparently be available in four different colors — Snow, Linen, Fog or Lemongrass — and a single one will set you back $199, with dual and triple packs going for $299 and $399 respectively. There’s even a multicolour three-pack if you like to mix and match.
While bundling makes it cheaper, it’s worth noting that that price is still up on previous generations. The original Nest WiFi router cost $169 back in 2019, before being reduced to $99 for the relaunched 2020 version. We’ll have to test it ourselves before we can say whether it’s worth the extra dollars (assuming this isn’t an incorrect placeholder price, of course).
No release date is listed, but given the invite (opens in new tab) to Google’s October 6 event specifically mentions “additions to the Nest smart home portfolio” alongside the well-publicized Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch, we’d imagine we don’t have long to wait. Especially as the invite also said that “all of the devices will be shoppable the same day”…
