Below is a list of differences between the AC and AX hardware.
| Comparison | AC Hardware | AX Hardware |
|---|---|---|
| Wireless Standard | 802.11ac – Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ax – Wi-Fi 6 |
| Wireless Security | WPA2 | WPA3 & OWE |
| Access Point Capacity | Single-User support (OFDM) | Multi-user support (OFDMA) |
| Supported Bands | 5GHz only | 2.4GHz and 5GHz |
| Spatial Streams | 4 | 8 |
| Maximum Link rate | 433-6933 Mbit/s | 600-9608 Mbit/s |
| Maximum Data Rate | 1.3 Gbps – Wave1 (theoretical) 2.34 Gbps – Wave2 (theoretical) | 9.6 Gbps (theoretical) |
| Maximum Modulation | 256 QAM | 1024 QAM |
| MU-MIMO | Downlink | Uplink and Downlink |
Overall, AX wireless (also known as Wi-Fi 6) offers higher capacity throughput on a connection and also provides a higher level of security whilst maintaining backward compatibility with the WPA2 security for older devices to connect at AC standard.
