Google WiFi Australian hands on impression

There’s not a lot to show in a router hands on, especially when you can’t connect to it or play with its control app. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to discuss about Google’s new mesh networking WiFi router, the simply named Google WiFi. We know what it can do, but how did it look and feel, and will it ever reach our shores?

From the outside, the Google Wifi is a small “puck” like device with a clear, LED sporting, band running around its circumference. The Eggshell style plastic, which is very similar to what is on the Google Home, is adorned by a simple G logo.

Around the back, the device has 3 ports, one LAN and WAN and a USB C which doubles as both a power source and a potential port for accessing media or a network.

In the end, is a plastic cylinder with some lights in it, but does it need to be more than that? I’d say no.

What’s more important is what it can do. In discussions with members of the Google WiFi team, it’s obvious this little antennaless router is packing more than it’s size lets on.

By constantly monitoring the network, and the devices connected to them and the traffic across that network the Google WiFi will dynamically move the load across the various WiFi device to create the best overall data rate.

If you’ve got your Google WiFi devices hooked up over ethernet and they determine it would be faster to initiate a WiFi link the mesh network will dynamically do this without the user ever experiencing any differences. Simply put the mesh network just finds and uses the fastest route.

The router won’t just be watching for local network congestion, it will also monitor bandwidth congestion in your local area and change which channels the devices are broadcasting on. This will ensure that your WiFi is operating at peak effectiveness for you real-time situation.

This sort of real-time, continuous and dynamic Quality of Service monitoring, and traffic routeing is almost unheard of in home WiFi devices. Pair this with the ability to set priority devices, block certain devices at certain times and other features and the Google WiFi is one of the products I’m most looking forward to having.

Duncan attended the Made By Google event in San Francisco as a guest of Google Australia. Ausdroid would like to thank HP Australia for supporting our coverage of the event.