Ubiquiti Launches New 'AmpliFi Alien' Router With Touch Display and Wi-Fi 6 Support

[MacRumors]

Ubiquiti today launched an all-new router, the AmpliFi Alien, which is Ubiquiti's first Wi-Fi 6 router. The router is on sale now for $379.

According to the company, the AmpliFi Alien allows you to increase your network capacity by 4x and boost coverage by 2x, all while reducing battery drain on mobile devices. It's powered by 8x8 MIMO Wi-Fi 6 technology, so a single AmpliFi Alien router provides greater range and speeds than previous single AmpliFi routers.

The router includes 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Wi-Fi 6 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5 radios, delivering 7,685 Mbps total capacity and 16 spatial streams from one single AmpliFi Alien unit. Although the new router isn't specifically a mesh system, the company did note that you can mesh multiple Alien units together to extend coverage if you have a large home.

In terms of dimensions, the AmpliFi Alien is 9.84 inches tall and about 4.3 inches wide, weighing 2.65 lbs. It also includes a 4.7-inch diagonal display with touch controls and haptics. Similar to the AmpliFi HD router, this display shows the current time, upload/download speeds, network status, and more.

Additional technical specifications can be found below:

• Max. TX Power - 2.4 GHz: 23 dBm per chain, 5 GHz 19 dBm per chain (low band)/ 20 dBm per chain (high band)
  MIMO - 2.4 GHz: 4x4 5 GHz: 4x4 (low-band) + 8x8 (high band)
  Speed - 2.4 GHz: 1148 Mbps, 5 GHz: 1733 Mbps (low band)/ 4804 Mbps (high band)
  Networking Interface - Wi-Fi; Gigabit Ethernet: (1) WAN, (4) LAN
  Max. Power Consumption - 35W
  ESD/EMP Protection - ± 24kV Air/Contact
  Antennas - (1) Internal Dual-Band Metal Stamp with 12 Polarity
  Display - 110.38 mm (4.7") Diagonal, 274 x 1268, 279 ppi, G+F Touch, Full Color
  Wi-Fi Standards - Up to Wi-Fi 6
  Wireless Security - WPA2

On the back of the router are four Gigabit LAN Ethernet ports and one Gigabit WAN port, along with the power supply. Setup of the router takes place in the connected AmpliFi app, and can be done in under a minute, similar to previous AmpliFi devices with quick setups. Also in the app include parental controls, guest access, ISP and system performance stats, and more.

Although many consumer devices don't yet support Wi-Fi 6, Apple's iPhone 11 lineup does support the next generation standard. When in use, Wi-Fi 6 provides faster connection speeds to connected devices, particularly in crowded areas. The standard is just now beginning to roll out to routers and various smartphones and computers in late 2019, and is expected to be more widely available in the coming years.

Visit AmpliFi's website for more information on the Alien router. For those interested, it's available for $379 beginning today.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with AmpliFi. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Article Link: Ubiquiti Launches New 'AmpliFi Alien' Router With Touch Display and Wi-Fi 6 Support

 

[CHA05 R31GN5]

Eh...I'm a big Ubiquiti supporter but please don't tell me they're following, the Belkin purchased Linksys & Dell acquired Alienware, AP product models.

 

[Pepe4life]

I had two amplifi routers, the bandwidth allocation is horrible. Games lag terribly despite having a stable internet connection. Oh and one of them died spontaneously right after the warranty was over.

Switched to Eero and never looked back.

 

[tmiw]

Seems weird that there isn't at least one 2.5/5/10Gbps Ethernet port on there given the Wi-Fi 6 support.

 

[deconstruct60]

"...Although the new router isn't specifically a mesh system, the company did note that you can mesh multiple Alien units together to extend coverage if you have a large home. ..."

At $375 a pop that would be one very high priced mesh . Been waiting for a WPA 3 ( and WiFi6 ) solution to drop from Amplifi but didn't plan on budget that big just to close up WPA2's problems.

Given there is a separate WiFi 5 "channel" meshing up an HD would be more cost effective but not uniform.

 

[iModFrenzy]

so their enterprise lineup still hasn’t been updated? Seems a little backwards to me

 

[Rychiar]

I've always gotten my router from my ISP. its included, no extra charge and they say their routers are the best for their service... that being said I wish I had something that could handle my crazy HomeKit setup better

 

[deconstruct60]

Seems weird that there isn't at least one 2.5/5/10Gbps Ethernet port on there given the Wi-Fi 6 support.

Not so weird when vast majority of modems don't have them either. The are some consumer range modems that go > 1GbE but typically that is through bonded 1GbE ports ( that are just there as 'future proof').

This Ampilfi product, not Ubiquiti "pro line" one. The primary intent is going to be to match up to mainstream consumer routers. WiFI 6 is probably more for better multidevice handling ( i.e.. " Utilizing MU-MIMO and OFDMA " ) and latencies than single device drag racing to the broader internet through a consumer modem chokepoint.

 

[luvbug]

No mention of WPA3? If it can't support WPA3, then you'll throw it away when proper WPA3-enabled routers come to market. Ofc, the clients need to support it, as well. My way of saying: This tech is currently at the BS stage, waiting for the uninformed to waste their money on it, only to dump it in a year or two. I'd advise waiting Just my take.

 

[Baymowe335]

How do you use one of these with Uverse service? Is it even possible?

 

[Stratus Fear]

No mention of WPA3? If it can't support WPA3, then you'll throw it away when proper WPA3-enabled routers come to market. Ofc, the clients need to support it, as well. My way of saying: This tech is currently at the BS stage, waiting for the uninformed to waste their money on it, only to dump it in a year or two. I'd advise waiting Just my take.

Pretty sure WiFi 6 requires wpa3 so it most likely supports it.

 

[deconstruct60]

so their enterprise lineup still hasn’t been updated? Seems a little backwards to me

It has. This previously dropped a week or so ago ( equally "funky" product name ' Dream Machine' )

https://store.ui.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-dream-machine

It doesn't have WiFi 6 but similar product market coverage. The bigger pitch there is they merged a router product capabilities and cloud key product inside more so than bleeding edge WiFi 6 coverage.

 

[tmiw]

Not so weird when vast majority of modems don't have them either. The are some consumer range modems that go > 1GbE but typically that is through bonded 1GbE ports ( that are just there as 'future proof').

Sure, but there are some higher end motherboards with >1Gbps ports now (not to mention that some of the newer desktop Macs have 10Gbps too). One or two on the router would benefit those even if every other wired connection was 1Gbps.

 

[Braderunner]

Wish Apple would get back in the router business.

 

[jetjaguar]

How many would I need to cover 6000sq feet? And can I use this with a Verizon Fios router .. just put it in bridge mode .. because I need the MOCA connection for Fios tv boxes .

 

[Braderunner]

I've always gotten my router from my ISP. its included, no extra charge and they say their routers are the best for their service... that being said I wish I had something that could handle my crazy HomeKit setup better

If it can't handle your HomeKit setup that well...I'd say they are wrong.

 

[deconstruct60]

Sure, but there are some higher end motherboards with >1Gbps ports now (not to mention that some of the newer desktop Macs have 10Gbps too). One or two on the router would benefit those even if every other wired connection was 1Gbps.

If running a 10GbE NAS on your LAN that that is very helpful. If all you are trying to is point and click at the world wide web that buys a whole lot of nothing if your modem has a 1GbE port on it.

A 10GbE switch in the Router to the local LAN unfortunately would crank up the cost of this device even higher. The price per port on motherboards has come down pretty far on > 1GbE ports. The switches however have given price premiums at a much slower pace at this point. The other major problem is that most > 1GbE switches run substantially hotter (need fans and thermal systems ). Probably would be better off and more cost effective to get a separate 10GbE switch and just hook one its ports to the this router for WAN access.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Sure, but there are some higher end motherboards with >1Gbps ports now (not to mention that some of the newer desktop Macs have 10Gbps too). One or two on the router would benefit those even if every other wired connection was 1Gbps.

<1% edge case = feature not included.

 

[deconstruct60]

No mention of WPA3? If it can't support WPA3, then you'll throw it away when proper WPA3-enabled routers come to market. ...

Actually WPA2 is explictly listed in the tech specs. Which wasn't suppose to be the case when WPA3 and WiFi 6 were announced a while back. Were both suppose to come together. However, there has been another WPA3 security flaw published this year ( which will need a certified/ratified fix). I'm guessing that Amplifi is planning to roll that out when it comes and they are leaving WPA3 turned off for the moment until they get the fix worked out. ( so pragmatically WiFi 6 would be indicative of 'could do WPA3' for the moment more so than it is absolutely required to do it. The excuse because WPA3 itself had the problem and folks don't want to hold up WiFi 6 any longer. )

[quote ] This tech is currently at the BS stage, waiting for the uninformed to waste their money on it, only to dump it in a year or two. [/quote]

That is probably a bit over the top characterization. The state is probably closer to one that is new and has version 1 bugs in it. The question is whether firmware updates going to be sufficient over time. I'm hoping Ubiquiti/Amplifi waiting until that was pretty clear (they just aren't communicating that too well. ).

 

[gleepskip]

<1% edge case = feature not included.

this product is for an (present day) edge case.

 

[deconstruct60]

How many would I need to cover 6000sq feet? And can I use this with a Verizon Fios router .. just put it in bridge mode .. because I need the MOCA connection for Fios tv boxes .

Probably can. The Amplifi HD product can.

https://help.amplifi.com/hc/en-us/articles/220979347-Enabling-Bridge-Mode

( I can't find any 'Alien' user docs at the moment. Hopefully they pop up later. )

The caveat is that several of the advanced features that Amplifi provides basically disappear. So you will have to make a trade off. ( and paying a decent amount of money for a quad core CPU that basically won't be doing much. ) Some stuff like the VLAN and QoS possibly can conflict with what FiOS wants to do with "cable boxes" on MoCA.

 

[tmiw]

A 10GbE switch in the Router to the local LAN unfortunately would crank up the cost of this device even higher. The price per port on motherboards has come down pretty far on > 1GbE ports. The switches however have given price premiums at a much slower pace at this point. The other major problem is that most > 1GbE switches run substantially hotter (need fans and thermal systems ). Probably would be better off and more cost effective to get a separate 10GbE switch and just hook one its ports to the this router for WAN access.

Speaking of switches, Netgear has a 8 port 10/100/1000 + 2x 2.5/5/10Gbps switch for ~$200ish now. And Mikrotik has a 12 port 2.5/5/10Gbps one (albeit with fans) for $500. I can see pricing dropping even further given those.

 

[deconstruct60]

this product is for an (present day) edge case.

Unless your ISP is dropping giant wads of cash on to the home fiber updates ... it is highly likely future case too. A large portion of ISPs have "maxed out" on last 100 ft kinds of roll outs. Large , expensive infrastructure rollouts typically are glacially slow when it means crossing other people's property (at consumer rate prices) .

 

[oneMadRssn]

It has. This previously dropped a week or so ago ( equally "funky" product name ' Dream Machine' )

https://store.ui.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-dream-machine

It doesn't have WiFi 6 but similar product market coverage. The bigger pitch there is they merged a router product capabilities and cloud key product inside more so than bleeding edge WiFi 6 coverage.

The Dream Machine is in the Unifi-line of products, whereas the product in OP is in the Amplifi-line of products. Different platforms, Amplifi is for home-use while Unifi is for small to medium-sized businesses, or home offices. Even though it's an all-in-one, the Dream Machine's built-in CloudKey can control dozens of Unifi access points, managed switches, etc.

 

[x-evil-x]

Now can they stuff that inside the normal AmpliFi square box? I much prefer that design.