Zyxel Hits The AC2600 MU-MIMO Sweet-Spot With Its Armor Z2 Wi-Fi Router

[Julio Urquidi]

Catching up with its competitors, ZyXEL has released its own AC2600 MU-MIMO dual-band router, the Armor Z2 (model NBG6817).

Qualcomm-based AC2600 class routers were the first to have working MU-MIMO and now ZyXEL is jumping into the AC2600 market. ZyXEL's NBG6815 AC2200 class MU-MIMO router [reviewed] uses a Quantenna 5 GHz radio.

The Armor Z2 is a dual-band quad-antenna Wi-Fi router powered by a second-generation Qualcomm 1.7 GHz dual core processor with 512 MB of memory. It supports maximum wireless link rates of 800 Mbps in 2.4 GHz and 1733 GHz in 5 GHz. For physical connectivity, the Armor Z2 includes four GbE LAN ports, one GbE WAN port, and two USB ports (2.0 and 3.0).

The Armor Z2 uses StreamBoost to help manage bandwidth usage and curbs latency so that applications that really need the network capacity, like 4K streaming, can run jitter-free.

Other listed features include ZyXEL ’s ONE Connect app for mobile management, Usage Monitor for triggered email notification of breached performance thresholds, and the ZyXEL Photo Backup app for remotely transferring pictures from your mobile device to USB-attached storage connected to a router back home.

Available now, the ZyXEL Armor Z2 AC2600 MU-MIMO dual-band wireless gigabit router is priced at $189.99, and includes a limited lifetime warranty.

 

[sfx2000]

Why do all these "high end" devices need to look like something from a gamer's perspective?

Some of us have to deal with Spousal Approval Factor...

 

[TheManFromUncle]

Why do all these "high end" devices need to look like something from a gamer's perspective?

Some of us have to deal with Spousal Approval Factor...

Indeed!

 

[TheLyppardMan]

Indeed!

I've thought for a while now that router performance may be improving, but they also seem to be getting uglier with each generation. No comparison to my old mostly-white TP-Link router with its green leds along the front (which weren't ridiculously bright I should add, unlike the Asus RT-N66U for example, which are bright enough to light up the wall on the other side of the room).

 

[TonyH]

I've thought for a while now that router performance may be improving, but they also seem to be getting uglier with each generation. No comparison to my old mostly-white TP-Link router with its green leds along the front (which weren't ridiculously bright I should add, unlike the Asus RT-N66U for example, which are bright enough to light up the wall on the other side of the room).

Price reflects bigger(uglier?) size and brighter LEDs? At least indicators can be turned off on som erouters.

 

[Wutikorn]

I found this one to have great appearance in some way, but I would want to see some high end routers look like semi business models.

 

[calearne]

$189?

It's listed for $269 on amazon.

 

[sfx2000]

I found this one to have great appearance in some way, but I would want to see some high end routers look like semi business models.

Or something that is style/design neutral - so it doesn't conflict with home decor - one of the key points with WiFi is getting the AP where the clients generally congregate - which might not be in the home office - so having a "dead spider" hanging out in the living/family room might run into some issues...

style/design does matter to some... I think the guys that are doing some of the mesh stuff (Eero, Luna) understand this...