Tired of all the Wi-Fi standards, their names, and the long compatibility lists? Just think about it for a second. We’ve got 802.11 a, b, g, n and ac, with ax around the corner, and that is just a few of the standards. To see a complete list, check out this Wikipedia page. Seems like the Wi-Fi Alliance has finally decided to do something about it. The Alliance recently announced Wi-Fi 6 with the occasion of introducing a new number-based naming system.

The new naming scheme will use sequential numbers instead of letters, starting with Wi-Fi 6. It will be introduced and hopefully adopted next year, and it will be the new designation of Wi-Fi ax. Going back to existing mainstream standards, Wi-Fi 5 will designate 802.11ac technology, and Wi-Fi 4 will stand for 802.11n.

“For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi 6, and present a new naming scheme to help industry and Wi-Fi users easily understand the Wi-Fi generation supported by their device or connection”, said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance.