ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Launches in Japan with Draft Wi-Fi 8
ASUS has released the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 in Japan, which it calls the world's first gaming router supporting draft Wi-Fi 8 specifications, even though the standard is unfinished.
ASUS has launched the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 in Japan, a gaming router that supports draft Wi-Fi 8 specifications. According to the company, it is the world's first gaming router to do so. The product went on sale on October 30 as an Amazon exclusive in the country.
The catch is that the standard behind Wi-Fi 8 is not finished. Wi-Fi 7 remains the latest officially ratified generation. The underlying standard, IEEE 802.11bn, is scheduled for formal approval in 2028. The router is built on a draft specification, meaning it anticipates a design that is still being worked out.
What Wi-Fi 8 aims to deliver
Wi-Fi 8 is not only about higher peak speeds. The focus is on making connections more stable and reducing the delay before data arrives, including in busy environments with many connected devices. For a gamer who hits lag when a video plays or a download runs during an online match, consistent responsiveness matters more than a headline speed figure.
Those are goals for Wi-Fi 8 as a whole, however, not performance claims for this specific product.
Limits buyers should know
ASUS plans to add some Wi-Fi 8 features through future firmware updates, but full compatibility with the final standard is not guaranteed. To get the most from Wi-Fi 8, the PCs and smartphones connecting to the router must support it as well.
The GT-BN98 has received Japan's technical conformity certification (giteki) for radio equipment. Even so, any Wi-Fi 8 features that are not yet permitted for use in Japan cannot be used on it.
For early adopters, the router offers a head start on a coming generation, but with clear trade-offs: an unfinished standard, limited client support and regulatory restrictions.
Apps worth a look
SUMO: the number puzzleTap the right tiles, add them up, hit the target. Easy to learn, hard to master. Free, for all ages.
Dialo: learn languages by speakingTalk to an AI conversation partner; every sentence comes back corrected and explained in your language. 9 languages, A1 to C2.
ediviewer: read EDI files like documentsOpen EDIFACT and X12 messages, see every segment explained, convert to JSON/XML, export PDF and Excel. Runs locally, no upload.
More from this day
See all →
Apple Opens Siri AI to Third-Party Apps With iOS 27.3
Ant International and banks complete HKD token transfers
Tumbleweed raises €6.9 million after Austria's first commercial satellite
Y Combinator's Garry Tan spends up to $200K a year on AI tokens
More in: Hardware
See all →
CODE380's D·Vision SDR lets Ukraine watch Russian drone feeds
Fritz Smart Energy 201: New Smart Plug Launches at 49 Euros
Meta to End OS Updates for Quest 2 and Quest Pro by March 2027
