Business and prosumers will like the idea of being able to use up to 12 SSIDs to group users and devices onto separate network segments – each with different levels of access. However, the access controls for these segments are very broad and nothing like (again) the Synology, which offers numerous, IoT-optimised, firewall and sharing configurations for each network. Nine of the SSID networks are essentially forms of guest networks.

Up close it scored 627Mbps, which is fast but about 100Mbps slower than other top Wi-Fi 6 rivals. Next to the secondary node it scored 609Mbps – which represents only a 3% drop-off and the fastest speed we’ve ever seen from a test by a secondary node on a mesh! For now, in my trial, that was not possible yet. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t link them together. The AiMesh setup process would just fail every single time. And I tried many times. This is one of the top routers from Asus, promising speeds of up to 11,000 Mbps, and 6,000 sq ft of coverage with just two nodes. Impressive? Only if you read the fine print. The unit offers Tri-Band connectivity, including 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz-1 and 5Ghz-2, and 2.5G multi-gig ports for high speed direct connection from either node, optimal for NAS systems, gaming or just about any workflow demanding the fastest connection possible. And all three combined offer the magical 11,000 Mbps, of 4,804 Mbps each for 5Ghz, and 1,148 Mbps for 2Ghz. Be noted: This is an early stage beta, there might be bugs. This version can be downgraded via web GUI only. Additionally, on the 5GHz-2, the XT12 supports the latest UNII-4 portion to have a third 160MHz band which is free for DFS channels. By default, the ET12’s 6GHz band doesn’t have to deal with DFS.

And there are even more similarities, as you’ll note in the hardware specifications below. Hardware specifications: ZenWiFi Pro XT12 vs ZenWiFi Pro ET12

You can buy either or none no matter your situation and the world will keep spinning for the foreseeable future. What this means though is that every month, a new line of Wi-Fi 6 routers hit the market, all touting speeds that mere mortals and few devices will never experience, but also all future-proofed, until a refreshed model lands in four months time that is. You shouldn’t have to choose between fast WiFi and eye-catching aesthetics. With their sophisticated design, the ZenWiFi Pro ET12 and XT12 will complement the style of your home. Their professional finish, parallel lines, and vertical orientation calls to mind the practical elegance of modern skyscrapers. Transparent material on the top gives an inside look at the omnidirectional antennas beneath. These routers don’t hide what they are. Their unique design uses the right balance of engineering and elegance to announce that these are no ordinary mesh WiFi routers. Ultimately, the features on offer make the XT12 feel like a souped-up consumer router with SMB-friendly features, which is no bad thing. In some ways it’s like a consumer-friendly Draytek router – a brand that is all about no-nonsense SMB Wi-Fi without the bells, whistles or performance boosts found here. But we’ll have to wait and see whether that’s enough for SMBs to actually use it as the foundation of their core network though – that level of adoption tends to take years of trust to develop.If you only need a single unit, my take is the ET12’s support for the 6GHz band is more valuable than the XT12’s support for UNII-4 (or the fact it has a second 5GHz band). But either will do just fine and you’ll save some dough going with the XT12. In terms of speed, the 11,000 Mbps on the marketing material was nothing more than wishful thinking but also because in Singapore, the common standard offered is 1 GBPS (1,000 Mbps), which is decent but a far cry from the 4,804Mbps ASUS mentions for its 5Ghz band. It’s in a relatively new market segment for prosumers and SMBs that was recently brought to the fore by Synology’s RT6600ax. The problem is that while the Synology is much uglier, it offers even more features, similarly impressive performance and costs (gulp) around one-third the price of the XT12, depending on where you are in the world.