What’s Next for Wi-Fi: Key Trends for 2026

Wi-Fi continues to evolve as new standards, security requirements, and device capabilities reshape how designers build connected products. 2026 will see several key developments, from wider Wi-Fi 7 infrastructure adoption to new peer-to-peer (P2P) capabilities and advances in sensing and locationing. The growing focus on post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and improved power efficiency will also impact next-generation IoT designs.

Together, these trends signal a more capable, secure, and energy-efficient Wi-Fi ecosystem in the year ahead.

Wi-Fi 7 Will Become Mainstream

Wi-Fi 6 introduced orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA), shifting Wi-Fi’s design priorities from chasing peak data rates to improving overall network efficiency. It answered a simple question: Why build a faster car if it’s stuck in traffic all the time?

Wi-Fi 7 extends that shift with Multi-Link Operation, which improves connection robustness and reduces latency. The feature is already available in most high-end smartphones and PCs, yet its benefits haven’t been fully realized because access points (APs) and routers are still catching up.

Today, only expensive, high-end models support Wi-Fi 7. In 2026, adoption will broaden across APs and routers at all price points, while ISPs begin rolling out Wi-Fi 7 as the default option.

Wi-Fi Aware Will Create New P2P Use Cases

The traditional Wi-Fi model requires devices to communicate through an AP or router. Device-to-device communication has long been possible through neighborhood area networking (NAN), though adoption has been limited. This is expected to change in 2026. With Apple iOS now supporting Wi-Fi Aware, the door opens for a broader set of peer-to-peer use cases.

Smartphones will be able to communicate directly across iOS and Android ecosystems. They will also be able to connect to IoT devices such as printers, appliances, and door locks without joining the same Wi-Fi network. On top of that, Wi-Fi Aware’s certified peer connections support one-touch onboarding, allowing personal devices, such as healthcare and medical monitors, to join a network simply by opening an app.

Getting Ready for PQC

As Wi-Fi connects more IoT devices to the internet, the attack surface expands, increasing the risk of botnets, lateral movement, supply-chain attacks, and similar threats. Hardware root of trust, secure onboarding and updates, and per-device attestation will become baseline expectations for IoT devices.

While these measures address today’s security challenges, we’re approaching a point where quantum computers could break current cryptographic protections. In 2026, device manufacturers will begin preparing for next-generation security through PQC.

PQC uses new classes of mathematical problems, such as lattice-based schemes that remain resistant to quantum attacks. Standards bodies have approved PQC algorithms so that device makers can begin migrating away from RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) and ECC (elliptic curve cryptography) well before quantum computers can defeat them.

Wi-Fi for Sensing and Locationing

Wi-Fi’s role in sensing and locationing has been discussed for years. But because the underlying technologies weren’t mature or reliable enough for large-scale use, broad deployment of these applications remained limited.

That’s beginning to change. Several key protocols are now available: 802.11mc for basic locationing, 802.11az for improved three-dimensional positioning, and 802.11bf for exchanging channel state information to enable presence and motion detection. With microcontrollers that integrate edge-AI acceleration now widely available, the conditions are in place for the industry to build and deploy multi-modal sensing and locationing applications at scale.

Increase in the Number of Battery-Operated Devices

Improvements in both active and standby power consumption of Wi-Fi system-on-chip (SoC) devices are reducing the energy requirements of connected products. New features in Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 further lower power usage for always-on operation, which will ramp up the number of battery-powered Wi-Fi–connected devices. These devices are generally easier for DIY users to install, further accelerating adoption.