We haven’t yet reached the technological advancements as seen in popular films like Blade Runner and Ex Machina, but NETGEAR is certainly taking it a step closer to reality.
NETGEAR, who has been at the forefront of innovative network technology with their product line of routers, recently invited us to preview a glimpse into the future of smart homes, showcasing how their new suite of products can feature into the next generation of smart homes, the NETGEAR Smart Home.
The first product they showcased is the Orbi Voice Mesh Wi-Fi system. The device works in tandem with NETGEAR’S Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi system, acting as a smart speaker along with increasing the range of your Wi-Fi network.
You can use the built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant to control your smart home, or to play your favourite songs, delivering fantastic audio quality from their partnership with Harman Kardon®. A number of popular music streaming applications are supported, like Spotify®, Amazon® Music, and Deezer.
Additionally, you can set alarms, control IoT devices, check traffic, weather and sports scores among other things. The Orbi Voice Mesh Wi-Fi system will retail at $799.
Next is their range of routers, the Nighthawk AX family. The introduction of Wi-Fi 6 brings about a new technological shift not seen for 14 years, having to make do with the now previous 802.11ac wireless model standard. Wi-Fi 6 brings networking to the modern era, allowing more devices to be connected to the same network; no more clogging and lagging of Wi-Fi connections.
The new age of Wi-Fi also brings a new change to NETGEAR’S AX line-up, with the introduction of the AX4, AX8 and AX12 models. These new models are designed to take advantage of the advancement of Wi-Fi technology by improving the ability to serve multiple users and delivering faster Wi-Fi speeds. All these go hand-in-hand with the simultaneous video streaming, multiple IoT devices and online gaming usage now commonly seen in Singapore homes.
The AX4 and AX8 Stream Wi-Fi 6 Routers are available at a retail price of $399 and $659 respectively. The AX12 will arrive in Singapore later in June and will be available at $799.
Speaking of gaming, NETGEAR also has a new addition to their Pro Gaming array of routers, the Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR300 Wi-Fi Router.
Compatible with several gaming consoles and devices like Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Nintendo Switch, the XR300 differentiates itself from the competition by having a gaming dashboard purpose-built into the device, powered by DumaOS.
The dashboard allows users to prioritise internet speeds for faster online gaming and smoother streaming; lag is now minimised with ultra-low ping rates. The dashboard is also fully customisable for players to create their own personalised experience. The Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR300 Wi-Fi Router is available at $399.
Finally, the most intriguing product showcased by NETGEAR is the Meural Canvas. While more known for their network products, NETGEAR decided to go into a different direction and came up with a digital platform to display art and photography.
The frame comes stocked with over 40,000 of the most iconic pieces of art including Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. When asked on whether local artists would be featured, NETGEAR said it was working on it.
Photography can also be featured as well. Whether you are a professional photographer or a casual selfie-taker, you can feature your work on the canvas all through the Meural app, available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Through the app, you can also customise settings for the Meural Canvas, such as customising what slate of art you want to showcase in a slideshow, or even schedule when the canvas will be active, like only during office hours if you have a Meural Canvas in your workplace.
The Meural Canvas has hand gesture capabilities to allow you to change what is on the frame or to see descriptions on what is currently showcased. Ambient backlight controls and its anti-glare screen will also allow the canvas to be placed in all manner of lit spaces. Additionally, the frame will also intelligently detect what type of art or photograph that is currently on and mimic the appropriate texture for it, like the unique textures seen on oil paintings.
The Meural Canvas is already available on online retailer Lazada’s site, with three colours to choose: Walnut Winslow, White Lenora and Black Lenora. It will also be available in major retail stores soon. The Meural Canvas will be available starting at $1,499 and comes with a three-year Meural Art Library content subscription.
With the exception of the aforementioned Nighthawk Pro Gaming AX12 Router and Meural Canvas, all these products are available now in major retail stores like Harvey Norman, Best Denki and Challenger.
With this new suite of products, NETGEAR smart homes seem to be possible, and we are indeed coming close to what was once only movie magic.
Photos by Soloman Soh of the DANAMIC team. Other visuals courtesy of NETGEAR.
