Wi-Fi routers are often found under a pile of assorted goods and regularly abused when Netflix stops working, but that might soon change.
Google has launched the OnHub, a “different kind of router for a new way to Wi-Fi”, and the tech giant says it will provide faster and more reliable internet access, as Wired reports.
It’s targeted at home users, can automatically search for the best connection, prioritise the device that’s running Netflix and is operated through a Google On app.
“At the end of the day, we want our Wi-Fi to just work, so that we can do all the things we love to do online,” Google group product manager Trond Wuellner says in a blog post.
Perhaps the most appealing part of the new router is its slick and futuristic look. Gone are the days of a box with blinking lights on it, OnHub is a cylindrical device that comes in blue or black and has a removable outer shell.
Google don’t want you to hide your router in a hard to reach place, the purpose of OnHub is for it to be placed front and centre in a home.
“We replaced unruly cords and blinking lights with internal antennas and subtle, useful lighting,” Wuellner says.
It might worry those already concerned about Google potentially infringing ever-closer in their personal lives, with the company often already having an in-depth knowledge of our location, email and search history. However, Wuellner says OnHub won’t have any privacy issues.
“We’ve drawn a very strong, hard and fast line around inspecting any information or website about the content you’re looking at in your home,” he says.
It appears it’s only available in the US at the moment, and is retailing for $US199.
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Denham Sadler is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne.
