On October 8, NXP Semiconductors announced its new family of 2x2 Wi-Fi 6 6 (802.11ax) Dual Band + Bluetooth/BLE solutions that are aiming to drive a new phase of connectivity innovation for advanced gaming, audio, industrial and IoT markets. Enabling the world’s first Wi-Fi 6 enabled gaming console, NXP’s optimized IW62X family of products aims to provide increased capacity, efficiency and performance for next-generation connectivity solutions including smart consumer IoT hubs, wireless speakers, video-enabled smart devices, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) devices and a universe of additional IoT applications.
Advanced wireless capabilities
The new 2x2 Wi-Fi 6 solutions are fitted for advanced gaming consoles that demand high-performance Wi-Fi with near zero wireless controller lag time and low-latency multiplayer gaming experiences (via a single, in-room console) over wireless networks. The IW62X solutions also provide real-time interactions for cloud-based gaming devices, clients, and services by providing high-bandwidth and low-latency connectivity needed for full 4k / 60 fps gameplay.
Rafael Sotomayor, Executive Vice President of Connectivity and Security at NXP commented: “Today we’re delivering the industry’s leading 2x2 Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band + Bluetooth solutions, enabling both the gaming industry and one of its most prominent console makers with Wi-Fi 6 for the first time. This product announcement reinforces NXP’s position at the cutting edge of connectivity and our ability to enable advanced wireless capabilities for the future of gaming plus the exponential growth in Wi-Fi 6 access points and IoT devices tethered to a single gateway. Our IW62X family of integrated Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth solutions brings a step-change in high performance and power efficient solutions for the latest-generation of smart home IoT services, connected industrial applications and the vast number of consumer devices that rely on power-efficient Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to maximize the user experience.”
A milestone to the future of consumer and industrial IoT
NXP’s family of 2x2 Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band + Bluetooth solutions brings a substantial boost in speed, and a 4x increase in network capacity and a 2x increase in bandwidth over previous generations of Wi-Fi. This increased capacity with reduced latency supports a significantly higher numbers of users and devices connected to a network or gateway.
These features support a broad choice of robust use cases, comprising AR/VR headsets, making full, completely wireless immersive experiences in HD possible; Multi-channel home theatre audio experiences with wireless speakers, video-enabled smart assistants with full bandwidth to support seamless 4k video interaction and content streaming; smart IoT hubs, appliances and accessories, outdoor and remote IP-enabled security cameras; and consumer, commercial, and industrial IoT solutions for home and building control (smart lighting, building safety and security and climate control).
Expanded capabilities with NXP’s Wi-Fi 6 + BT/BLE and Wi-Fi 6 + BT/BLE-Audio
The BT/BLE radios support Bluetooth/BLE standards (BLE LR/2Mbps, BLE AoA/AoD, BLE Mesh), independent Bluetooth connections and operational modes with multiple external devices. These capabilities enable advanced smart hub and smart home services that use Bluetooth-based positioning and Mesh connectivity, providing support for numerous applications, including dual/independent wireless headset support, robust support of audio streaming (via stereo A2DP, Isochronous Channel); and separate low-power peripheral/accessory control, including speaker, voice assistant, audio hubs/soundbar, physical remote control and low-power device wakeup.
The IW62X family features the highest level of integration in the market, including 2.4 and 5 GHz dual band Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) antenna switches. It also includes a power management unit that significantly reduces system-level BOM (Bill of Materials) and device board area, while as well simplifying chip-on-board and integrated-module designs.
