The world of Wi-Fi is evolving rapidly, and with Wi-Fi 7 on the horizon, you might be wondering what sets it apart from Wi-Fi 6 and whether it’s worth waiting for. Here’s a simple breakdown of the major differences and what they mean for everyday use.
Speed
Wi-Fi 6 offers impressive speeds, maxing out around 9.6 Gbps, which is more than enough for streaming in HD, online gaming, or handling multiple devices. Wi-Fi 7, however, can reach up to a staggering 46 Gbps. That’s about five times faster, making Wi-Fi 7 ideal for things like 8K streaming, quick downloads of massive files, and gaming with ultra-low latency.
Frequency Bands
Another key difference is the range of frequencies each version supports. Wi-Fi 6 uses the traditional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Wi-Fi 7 expands on this by adding a 6 GHz band, which creates additional room for devices to connect without crowding. This extra space is especially useful in environments like offices or public places where many devices are competing for connection.
Capacity for More Devices
Both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 are designed to support multiple devices on the same network using a feature called MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output). Wi-Fi 6 supports up to 8 simultaneous data streams, which works well for most homes and small offices. Wi-Fi 7 doubles this to 16 streams, allowing for even more devices to connect seamlessly. This increase will be particularly useful in smart homes with many devices or crowded spaces like cafes.
Data Efficiency
Source: www.netally.com
Wi-Fi 7 also boosts data efficiency through something called QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), which refers to how much data can be packed into each signal. Wi-Fi 6 uses 1024-QAM, while Wi-Fi 7 improves this to 4096-QAM, effectively allowing more data to be transmitted at once. This improvement helps make the network faster and more efficient, even with high data loads.
Special Features in Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi 7 brings a couple of advanced features that enhance stability and connection quality. One of these is Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which allows devices to connect across multiple bands at once. This makes connections more stable and keeps the network flowing smoothly, even when some bands are congested. Another feature, puncturing, blocks only the parts of a channel that are interfering with other devices rather than shutting down the whole channel, which keeps speeds high even in crowded areas.
Which Should You Choose?
For most users, Wi-Fi 6 is already very fast and offers reliable, high-quality connectivity. It’s widely available, affordable, and perfect for streaming, gaming, and handling multiple devices at once. If you’re in need of immediate, reliable Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6 is a solid choice.
However, Wi-Fi 7 is designed for the future. If you’re building a tech-heavy setup, like a smart home with many connected devices or an office that requires very high speeds and minimal latency, it might be worth waiting for Wi-Fi 7 to become more mainstream. It’s faster, handles more devices, and is built to meet future internet needs.
In summary:
Wi-Fi 6: Excellent for today’s needs, supports high speeds, multiple devices, and is budget friendly.
Wi-Fi 7: Ultra-fast and more future proof, but may not be widely available for a bit.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 both offer great benefits, but choosing the right one will depend on your current setup and whether you want to wait for the enhanced capabilities Wi-Fi 7 brings.
Divoom is hardly ever short of cool things. Maybe not top-of-the-line, segment leading products in terms of quality, but definitely products that are unique enough to stand out.
A few months ago, we had the absolute delight of reviewing the Songbird-HQ. Now, next to warrant our attention is the Tiivoo-2, which we took with open arms.
This mini speaker is a handy thing to carry around – not only because the unit is about the size of your palm, but also because it comes in a petite hard case with a handle. The speaker is visibly retro-inspired, sporting a similar look to vintage TVs back in the day. If you’re from a newer generation, we won’t hold it against you if you think it looks similar to an Among Us character.
Divoom Tiivoo-2: Retro-inspired speakers
Before we dive into all the neat tricks you can do, let’s look at the Tiivoo-2 for what it primarily is: a speaker. As I mentioned before, Divoom isn’t typically your go-to source if you’re looking for jaw-dropping audio quality. Nevertheless, I found audio quality to be decent.
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest audiophile, so take this with a pinch of salt. I’ve yet to take opinions from sound enthusiasts about the Tiivoo-2, so if you fit the bill, do feel free to share your thoughts.
Regardless, it seems like the main push on the Tiivoo-2 isn’t really audio quality. Instead, it’s the pixel-driven user interface imbued into every function and feature of the speaker, all displayed on a tiny display barely the size of my thumb.
Verdict? I love it, and I reckon you’ll feel the same if you possess a soft spot for nostalgia. Everything from the wallpaper to setting controls is decked in 2-bit arcade aesthetics. Even the music player looks absolutely gorgeous with the pixel animations in the background. You have a few background options here, including a spinning vinyl and a cityscape at night.
Now serves as an appropriate segue into all the other cool features on the Divoom Tiivoo-2. So, let’s dive into it.
1) Create your own pixel art
More than a speaker, the Tiivoo-2 is essentially a canvas for pixel art. Well, you’re not actually drawing the art on the speaker itself. Rather, you’ll be doing it via the Divoom app, after which you can display your artwork on the speaker!
You’re not limited to still art either. I was quite impressed to find out you can create your own pixel animations by stitching together multiple frames. It’s all easy enough to navigate too, even for someone with no talent in art (that person being me).
If creating something from scratch isn’t your thing, simply head over to the Pixel Coloring tab, where there are tons of template art pieces for you to fill with colours.
2) Personalize your Tiivoo-2 with photos and cool clock faces
Aside from pixel art, the Tiivoo-2 can act as your personal digital photo album. You can easily do this by uploading the photos under the ‘Photo album’ tab on the Divoom app, after which the photos uploaded will display on the Tiivoo-2’s screen.
This is cool and all, but what I really enjoyed playing around with was the extensive catalogue of clock faces. You’ll find some really unique pixel clocks here, including countdowns to important dates such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
Some clock faces even allow you to leave notes to yourself, be it reminders or words of encouragement. It’s all highly customizable, and I found these a neat way to make the Tiivoo-2 truly yours.
3) Be part of a community
When you buy Divoom speakers, you’re also buying into a community of enthusiastic pixel creators. Trust me, you’ll be blown away and inspired by the ideas brewing from the community daily.
The Divoom app features a tab dedicated to a universal chatbox where everyone is free to share ideas, draw inspiration, and connect with each other. On a separate tab called Galleria, you can find all the pixel art creations uploaded by artists from around the globe. You can follow your favourite creators and even share your artwork with the community! It’s like Instagram…but for pixel art!
4) Play retro pixel games
A retro experience is incomplete without blast-from-the-past 2-bit games. If you’re from the 90s to early 2000s, you’ll find these reminiscent of old pixel games we used to play on the Nokia 3310. We counted 15 pixel games in total, including Pixel Racing, Bean Eater Snake, Hopping Frog, and Cosmic Adventure – all of which are played using the knobs and buttons on the Tiivoo-2 speaker itself.
It is essentially a mini arcade in your hands, which works great for kicks and a trip down memory lane.
5) Calm your mind with white noise
When you’re not jamming to tunes, you can activate White Noise mode to enjoy soothing, calming ambient noise. You have a few options to choose from, including river streams, campfire crackles, beach waves, chirping birds, and even the low hum of a fan.
What I particularly like is that you can activate more than one white noise at the same time. For example, if you want to simulate a rainforest, you can do so by playing the river streams, bird chirps, and campfire noise simultaneously to emulate what it would sound like.
I need to be realistic here and say that audio quality isn’t in ‘surreal’ territory like what you’d find on YouTube and Spotify. However, it still worked wonders for me as a lullaby to fall asleep to and as a calming audio presence while I work and study.
6) Focus with Pomodoro technique
Speaking of studying, one of the features on the Tiivoo-2 is the Pomodoro counter. What’s Pomodoro? It’s a time management technique for work where you typically do 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break, after which the process repeats itself for a set number of cycles.
The Pomodoro counter is customizable on the Tiivoo-2. You can set your work and rest durations, and even create separate Pomodoro counters for different tasks, like reading and studying!
7) Listen to FM radio
It’s hard to miss the extendable metal antenna at the back of the Tiivoo-2. It’s there for good reason – to receive radio frequencies! That’s right, the Tiivoo-2 also functions as a mini radio, with radio channels you can toggle on the speaker itself or through the Divoom app.
Personally, I found it way easier to tune frequencies via the app simply because of the larger interface. The display on the Tiivoo-2 isn’t touchscreen, and toggling with the knobs and dials can be confusing at times. Be that as it may, an FM radio is fitting given the retro theme of the Tiivoo-2.
Divoom Tiivoo-2: More than just a speaker
Honestly, I felt like I was getting more than my money’s worth with the Tiivoo-2. At the end of the day, you’re going home with more than just a speaker. It’s got all these bells and whistles that you could argue are absolutely unnecessary on a speaker. Still, they are spoonfuls of little quirks that feed into nostalgia – and I’m all for it.
The Divoom Tiivoo-2 is available for purchase in Malaysia. It officially retails at RM289, and can be bought through Divoom’s official Malaysian distributor, Lumos. You can find it on Lumos’ official website, or on their official Shopee platform. Alternatively, it is also available on Divoom’s official Lazada store.
To stay updated on the latest Divoom products, don’t forget to follow the official Instagram pages of Divoom and Lumos!
