"Compared to the consumer side's pursuit of higher bandwidth, enterprise Wi-Fi applications place greater demands on reliability and stability," said Lin Jianfu, Senior Marketing Manager of the Wireless Connectivity Business Unit at Qorvo Asia-Pacific.

At the same time, Lin believes the Wi-Fi 7 market still has significant growth potential. With declining device costs and increasing enterprise demand, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to experience a surge in adoption within the next 1–2 years.

Wi-Fi 7 Market remains unsaturated

The origins of Wi-Fi technology date back to the year of 1971, when the University of Hawaii developed the ALOHA protocol. Commercial use began in 1985 after the U.S. FCC opened the 2.4GHz ISM band.

After decades of evolution, Wi-Fi 4, introduced around 2009, marked the first major leap, enabling dual-band operation (2.4GHz/5GHz) to alleviate congestion.

In 2019, Wi-Fi 6 brought "revolutionary innovations" such as MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, and OFDMA, significantly improving efficiency and quickly establishing itself as the mainstream standard within 3–4 years.

Wi-Fi 6E emerged in 2021, leveraging the 6GHz band to usher in the era of true tri-band (Real Tri-Band) communication. Currently, over 50% of devices, including smartphones, APs, and tablets, still use Wi-Fi 6.

Lin noted that Wi-Fi 6 represented a massive technological leap over Wi-Fi 4 and Wi-Fi 5, akin to the iPhone's disruption of the mobile phone market. However, Wi-Fi 6's overwhelming success has slowed Wi-Fi 7's adoption. "About 80% of Wi-Fi 6's features were new compared to Wi-Fi 5, whereas Wi-Fi 7 introduces only about 40% new hardware and technological upgrades," Lin explained.

Additionally, Wi-Fi's backward compatibility means users must have both Wi-Fi 7 routers and devices to experience its full benefits. "Even if a user buys a Wi-Fi 7 router, they’ll still use Wi-Fi 6 bands if their phone only supports Wi-Fi 6," Lin emphasized.

Yet, as 6GHz becomes more widespread, especially in enterprise settings requiring ultra-low latency, high stability, and multi-tenant performance, Wi-Fi 7's advantages over Wi-Fi 6 become undeniable.

Lin also highlighted that Wi-Fi 7 hardware costs are falling faster than Wi-Fi 6's, paving the way for rapid adoption. "High prices have been a major barrier to Wi-Fi 7 sales, but with cost reductions, prices will follow. I expect the Wi-Fi 7 market to grow significantly in the next two to three years," he said. "Currently, the Wi-Fi 7 market is far from saturated."

Enterprise Applications Poised for Explosive Growth

Counterpoint predicts the global Wi-Fi chip market will grow 12% year-over-year by 2025, with Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 7 devices accounting for 43%. China’s market is expanding even faster, with commercial Wi-Fi revenue projected to rise from $2.271billion in 2020 to $3.59 billion by 2025, a 9.8% CAGR.

According to Boyan Consulting, China’s enterprise Wi-Fi market reached RMB 35 billion in 2023, up 18% year-over-year, and is expected to hit RMB 50 billion by 2025, with a 16% CAGR. Globally, enterprise WLAN revenue reached $2.3 billion in Q3 2024, with Wi-Fi 7 shipments growing 69% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting strong demand.

Wi-Fi 7's enterprise applications far outshine consumer uses, with breakthroughs expected in industry, healthcare, retail, and education,etc.

In industry, Wi-Fi 7’s high bandwidth (30Gbps+) and low latency (<5ms) are critical for the core of interllectual manufacturing. For example, AI solutions in automotive plants use Multi-Link Operation (MLO) to enhance AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) real-time data transmission, boosting throughput by 30% and cutting maintenance costs by 20%. MRU technology optimizes channel allocation in high-density assembly lines, reducing signal interference. These innovative applications have significantly enhanced the operational efficiency of smart factories, demonstrating the critical value of next-generation communication technologies in industrial scenarios.

In healthcare, Wi-Fi 7’s 320MHz bandwidth enables 4K medical imaging streaming, while "Wi-Fi Shield" technology prevents data breaches via physical-layer signal interference, meeting HIPAA compliance. For instance, Beijing Union Hospital’s Wi-Fi 7 network supports surgical robots, EMR access, and telemedicine simultaneously, doubling single-user throughput.

In retail, Wi-Fi 7’s load-balancing handles peak traffic. At Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, preamble puncturing minimizes signal loss, maintaining 1Gbps+ throughput over 40 meters for 4K surveillance and seamless passenger roaming.

In addition, Lin Jianfu noted that certain application scenarios which couldn't achieve "perfect" performance with Wi-Fi 6 and earlier products are now being realized with Wi-Fi 7's capabilities. "Meanwhile, as Wi-Fi 7 costs continue to decline, these scenarios will experience explosive growth," Lin emphasized.

Major players are accelerating Wi-Fi 7 adoption. In 2024, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 7 devices achieved 26.56Gbps peak speeds, enabling AR/VR and other emerging applications.

From an industry development perspective, major players in the telecommunications equipment sector are actively advancing Wi-Fi 7 technology iterations and ecosystem deployment. Latest data shows the global Wi-Fi 7 equipment market has demonstrated remarkable performance in 2024, with enterprise-grade products achieving peak throughput of up to 26.56Gbps. When combined with next-generation network security technologies, these solutions have made breakthrough progress in both performance metrics and market share. Such technological advancements provide robust network support for emerging applications like AR/VR, driving the entire industry toward higher performance standards.

Wi-Fi 7 represents not just a technological leap forward, but a strategic infrastructure for enterprise digital transformation. In terms of monetization models, the synergy between hardware and services, along with deep customization for vertical industries, will become key competitive differentiators for manufacturers. From an application perspective, its high-bandwidth and low-latency characteristics will catalyze emerging business models such as smart healthcare and industrial IoT.

With the explosive demand for Wi-Fi 7 technology in enterprise scenarios, Qogrisys’s O7851PM Wi-Fi 7 module is reshaping industry connectivity ecosystems with breakthrough innovations. As hardware costs continue to decline and ecosystem maturity improves, this module is accelerating the large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi 7 in industrial IoT, smart retail and other sectors, ushering in a new era of high-speed, low-power wireless connectivity through technological innovation.Through its strategic deployment of the O7851PM, Qogrisys has not only strengthened the application foundation of Wi-Fi 7 technology, but has also injected powerful momentum into the global enterprise wireless market's expansion with its "hardcore technological capabilities."