not an engineer, so i may be way off center here. for relatively urban areas (townhome, condo, apartment, postage stamp yards, small businesses in strip malls, etc) it seems that 2.4g range may be overstressed and may be even less desirable than the 5g range. steamrolling neighbors with 2.4g is less likely with 5g due to its reduced ability to permeate structural factors. now if you live in the country with a big house with old walls containing metal or concrete, then 2.4g is the more important choice for coverage.
the point is, orbi seems like a steamroller, and i mean that in a good way, especially if you need or want one. the unifi-aps, however, have a very comparable 5g down and slightly better 5g up, relative to the orbi. so if a space that requires 2 orbis ($350-400) may require 3 unifi-aps (~$300 + router) for equivalent if not better 5g coverage, it could be a better choice in an urban environment. and to further that point, in such an environment the 2.4g channels are flooded. living in a townhouse we often have over 15 other devices fighting for bandwidth, not counting the microwave, computer mice, etc. 5g just has more open space.
in addition, i am one that is looking at either an orbi or unifi, so i think the comparison for me was on target.
