Enlarge / The Amplifi router/Wi-Fi base station. (credit: Ubiquiti Labs)
I’ve been pretty happy with my switch to Ubiquiti Unifi enterprise (or "enterprise lite," depending on whom you ask) networking gear at my home. But, as explained at length in our review of the system, the Unifi UAP line isn’t necessarily the easiest thing for a home user to buy and set up. The kit requires a separate router and separate management software, and it includes a lot of advanced features that less-technical home users might not care about.
However, this morning Ubiquiti announced a new product line targeted squarely at home users who want the reliability of higher-end business Wi-Fi without the setup and admin hassle: Amplifi. Designed to compete directly against "set it and forget it" mesh Wi-Fi products like eero, Amplifi kits will include a router/AP base station with a touch screen for configuration and four gigabit Ethernet ports, as well as two pre-paired Wi-Fi extenders that can be placed wherever you’d like in your house or apartment. Unlike the business-oriented Unifi gear, the Amplifi router doesn’t require you to run a separate management station application or use a Ubiquiti Cloud Key.
There will be four different Amplifi kits available: the base Amplifi bundle for $199, the Amplifi LR for $299, and the Amplifi HD for $349. There are a few big differentiators across the lines—maximum transmission power, supported Wi-Fi standards, MIMO configuration, and subsequent maximum speed. For the entry-level model, the max TX power of the base station is 24dBm, and the extenders can do 22dBm. The LR pushes the base station to 26dBm and the extenders to 24dBm. With the HD kit, both the base station and extenders can hit a max of 26dBm.
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