Coverage. Speed. Latency. Security. All of those are vital options of a Wi-Fi router, and so they’re all issues we’ve fully disregarded for this text. Because the query of the day is, which fashionable router appears the least like a shopper electronics equipment, and probably the most like one thing that may menace the Rebel Alliance within the third act?
Gaming {hardware} usually has some bizarre aesthetics happening. Between the seas of black plastic and galaxies of RGB lights, an costly gaming desktop setup appears like a rave in a NASA management heart. But Wi-Fi routers specifically, with their a number of antennas and no actual restrictions on measurement or form, have confirmed an irresistible goal for the extra extreme type of product designer.
So we current a rating of probably the most spaceship-like Wi-Fi router designs. We’ve restricted our picks to only one design from every main producer (or else we’d be right here all day), with completely no concern for his or her technical capabilities or total high quality. Nope, that is only a listing of which routers look probably the most like an evil spaceship, from least evil spaceship-adjacent to most.
10: Amazon Eero Pro 6
Amazon
The tail finish of this listing is stuffed with routers that aren’t particularly marketed for gaming prowess, however as merchandise from among the greatest tech firms on the planet, we’d be reticent to skip them. Least spaceship-like of all is the most recent mesh router from Amazon, the Eero Pro 6. Mesh routers are designed to be impartial by way of decor, so maybe it’s not shocking that this one is only a curvy lump of plastic. The eye would slide proper over it, on a bookshelf, finish desk, and even within the inky depths of area.
9: Google WiFi
This isn’t the most recent mannequin of mesh router provided by Google — that’s the Nest WiFi. But its older cousin appears ever so barely extra like a spaceship, if solely as a result of its symmetrical, perpendicular strains are harsher than the Nest’s curvy air freshener look. You may be capable to think about a fleet of Google WiFis as off-brand Death Stars, however not very intimidating ones.
8: Arris Surfboard DOCSIS 3.1 AC2350
Arris
This mixture cable modem-Wi-Fi router is, like most of Arris merchandise, basically a field. But its slight taper and cheese grater housing a minimum of present a bit extra thought than the same old Surfboard mannequin, which appears like a tiny plastic radiator. This modem-router may be mistaken for a spaceship from a Kubrickian alien species that’s gone past the necessity for design parts.
7: Motorola MR2600
Motorola
Motorola is one other producer that prefers modems to routers, however this fairly basic modem design is a minimum of getting in the correct path. Its clean curves and 4 quite simple antennae put it extra within the mothership class than one thing really scary. While you may stretch your creativeness to make it a spaceship, it could solely be a really intimidating one if it was made big by context, looming over a moon or nationwide landmark.
6: Linksys WRT32X
Linksys
Now we’re getting someplace. The pointless angles, all-black housing, and front-facing blue LEDs of the WRT32X undoubtedly make it appear to be it might stand-in for a spaceship in a low-budget SyFy unique. The exaggerated “feet” make this look extra like some type of touchdown craft or troop transport, extra menacing for its contents than its precise form, however I’ve seen worse.
5. TP-Link Archer AX11000
TP-link
This gaming router is full to bursting with unnecessary aesthetic choices, most notably the colourful crimson paint on every of its eight outsized antennae. But its lack of lighting and bilateral symmetry hold it from being a really intimidating design. It may work as an evil fortress or area station, nevertheless it simply doesn’t fairly appear like one thing you’d want to leap to warp to flee on the final second.
4. Tenda AC6
Tenda
Tenda is a funds model of principally utilitarian tools, nevertheless it’s coming in sturdy with this darkish horse spaceship-router design. The angular housing has two entrance protuberances that appear like they could possibly be claws or mandibles, and the front-and-center blue LEDs appear like nothing a lot as a cockpit. Even the company’s own marketing compares it to a stealth fighter. The again finish is relatively boring, however total it’s a wonderful entry on this ludicrously particular competitors.
3. D-Link EXO AX5400
D-link
This router design may be missing in superfluous paint or lighting, however that principal housing is simply attractive. The two polygonal sections on the finish recommend back-mounted engines, and the refined angularity of the antenna again it up by encouraging the consumer to tilt them away from the tapered entrance. This would appear like a sensible however still-frightening automobile… if it was a fictional spacecraft as a substitute of a bit of networking tools.
2. Asus RT-AX82U
Asus
This isn’t probably the most superior or feature-filled router within the Asus lineup. In truth it doesn’t even get the “Republic of Gamers” badge. But look at that thing! The entrance slats are clearly imitating the air consumption of a sports activities automobile, and so they’re lit with RGB lighting to present them customizable menace. The heart and outer ft mix to appear like down-tapered wings. If you instructed me that this was a brand new design for a Cylon raider or Goa’uld loss of life glider, I’d discover it very tough to argue with you. Asus clearly agrees, as a result of it gave this router a paint job and made it an official Gundam-branded collectible. But there’s only one aspect that’s dragging it down: the antennae. They’re merely caught onto the again of the housing, detracting from relatively than including to an in any other case faultless spaceship look.
1. Netgear Nighthawk RAX200
Netgear
It was a detailed run between the Asus mannequin and this one. But ultimately, there’s no denying that the Nighthawk RAX200 (jeez, even the identify appears like a spaceship!) is a starfighter that simply occurs to broadcast Wi-Fi. The single swooping line incorporates the primary housing and antenna arrays in a glance that instantly evokes an advanced TIE fighter. Layers of black “armor” with contrasting finishes appear like they’re designed for atmospheric strafing runs. The light slope to the rear signifies engines (as a substitute of, you recognize, a bunch of Ethernet and USB ports). Even the open entrance signifies some type of consumption or deflector dish. It’s simply the least sensible design on this listing, its inflexible angles demanding about thrice as a lot quantity because it really occupies. But even sitting on a kitchen counter or jammed behind an leisure system, the Nighthawk RAX200 simply screams “deactivate your shields prepare to be boarded.”