Redmi first launched a Redmi AX5, which adopted the same hardware specifications as the Xiaomi AX1800 but returned to the minimalist style of traditional routers, so there was a price gap of 80 yuan. And now, Redmi has also launched its own more high-end 6-antenna AX3000 router “Redmi AX6“. While the specifications are very similar to the Xiaomi AX3600, the price is as much as 200 yuan cheaper. This gives rise to two questions: Can Redmi AX6 and Xiaomi AX3600 have the same experience? And how did Redmi AX6 make the price cheaper by a whole 200 yuan?
In terms of appearance, Redmi AX6 and Xiaomi AX3600 still have obvious differences. One continues to take a simple plastic box shape with a larger footprint; the other has an optimized design with a smaller footprint and a more beautiful appearance. In terms of the number of antennas, the Xiaomi AX3600 has an additional 2.4G band AIoT antenna with its own lighting effect, and the extra 600 in its name comes from this.
In terms of the core solution, according to the official introduction, both Redmi AX6 and Xiaomi AX3600 use Qualcomm’s Networking Pro 600 platform, a 4-core CPU + 2-core NPU processing chip, and support up to 6 spatial streams to provide maximum Wi-Fi 6 capacity. Both have 512MB RAM capacity, but the former ROM capacity is not given, perhaps this aspect will be different.
In addition, in terms of system firmware, due to the late launch of Redmi AX6, the system firmware is directly in place in one step. The factory is the latest version, the CPU frequency is improved, the 160MHz bandwidth and the 80MHz bandwidth are dynamically switched, and Mesh supports… These features that were waiting for OTA at the time can be enjoyed immediately this time.
Of course, these are just the differences seen on the surface, is Redmi AX6 worth it? Is it good to use? Where is cheap? Next, take a look at it through disassembly and detailed evaluation.
Design & Appearance
In appearance, Redmi AX6 continues to maintain the previous minimalist style. A circle of antennas is placed directly around the body of the Founder, and the grid design is adopted through the upper and lower sides.
Right on the front, two indicator lights are used to identify system and network conditions. On the back, Redmi AX6 provides a Gigabit WAN port and 3 Gigabit LAN ports, a power jack, and a reset button. The bottom grille has a large opening, allowing you to clearly see the internal circuit board. Power adapter close-up. The power consumption of the Redmi AX6 is lower than the 24W of the smaller Mi AX3600, requiring only 18W.
The length and width of the Redmi AX6 are 284mm and 186mm respectively, which are basically the same size as the Redmi AC2100 launched last year after a lap. According to the projection area, the Redmi AX6 actually has a smaller footprint than the Xiaomi AX3600, but due to the difference in shape between the two, the latter is actually more convenient to place at home, while the Redmi AX6 will inevitably take up too much space. Difficult problem. However, Redmi AX6 provides hanging holes, so if you can, it is a more space-saving option to install directly on the wall.
Redmi AX6 Disassemble
After talking about the appearance, then it’s the internal structure. The disassembly of the Redmi AX6 is very similar to the Redmi AX5. Remove the bottom sticker and remove the screws, you can take off the top cover and see the internal structure directly.
Under the large shell, the circuit board of Redmi AX6 is not small, and a heat sink almost completely covers the entire circuit board. Remove the heat sink, you can see four shields, each with a thermal pad to ensure heat conduction, on the right you can see 2 2.4G Wi-Fi contacts and 4 5G Wi-Fi contacts, all of which are fixed by soldering.
Remove the shielding cover, and there is a thermal pad at the corresponding chip position under each shielding cover. The CPU model is Qualcomm’s IPQ8071A, quad-core 1.0GHz, which should have been overclocked to 1.4GHz under the latest firmware.
Next to the CPU is a DDR3 memory chip, EM6HE16EWAKG-10H, with a capacity of 512MB. In addition to the CPU and memory, there is also a PMP8074 chip for CPU power management. The Gigabit switch chip QCA8075 is arranged next to the four network ports. The 5G wireless chip QCN5054 supports 4×4 MIMO under 80MHz bandwidth and 2×2 MIMO under 160MHz bandwidth.
The matching four signal amplifiers are QPF 4550. This is the model used by Xiaomi AX1800 and Redmi AX5. Compared with Xiaomi AX3600, it has a slightly weaker amplification power. The 2.4G wireless chip is QCN5024. Although it supports 4×4 MIMO, it can only use two wireless channels due to the limitation of the CPU. Under 2×2 MIMO, the maximum rate is 573Mbps.
The 2.4G wireless signal amplifier is QPF4200, and the same as the 5G power amplifier chip is the Xiaomi AX1800 and Redmi AX5 solutions, and the amplification power will be slightly reduced. On the back of the circuit board, there is a Flash chip, ESMT F59D1G81MB, with a capacity of 128MB, which is the same as the one used by Xiaomi AX1800.
In general, Redmi AX6 has been modified on the basis of 200 yuan cheaper than just the appearance change and the lack of an AIoT antenna. The wireless chip and independent power amplifier chip supporting the AIoT antenna are naturally also included. Removed, the PCB layout has also been adjusted. In addition, the specifications of 5G and 2.4G Wi-Fi have been weakened, down to the same solution as Xiaomi AX1800 and Redmi AX5, and the ROM capacity has also become 128MB.
Looking at it this way, these configuration changes do match the price gap of 200 yuan. Under such changes, will the experience of Redmi AX6 worsen? Next, check it out in the rate and signal test. Fourth, rate and signal: perfect coverage of medium-sized houses support 160MHz/80MHz dynamic switching. Test scene 80 square meters size wall 24 cm thick wooden door. The test scenario is the same as before. This time we directly tested the signals and speeds at points 1, 5, and 6, which represent the experience of being close and unobstructed, separated by one wall, and separated by multiple walls.
Surprisingly, at close range, the signal strength of Redmi AX6 reached a level of -13dBm, which is a result that has not been seen before. After many rounds of testing, we ruled out the possibility of error and guessed that it might be the gain brought by the latest router system.
It is not difficult to compare the speed in multiple scenarios. Although the same power amplifier chip is used, Redmi AX6 still has advantages in speed, signal, and delay. In this regard, because its specifications are high enough, the initial power is guaranteed. On the other hand maybe the improvement brought by the latest system overclocking the IPQ8071A processor.
The maximum intranet speed is limited by the bottleneck of the gigabit network card and gigabit cable. In the test, it can reach an intranet rate of 795Mbps, which is also in line with the normal performance under 2×2 MIMO.
In addition, the factory-equipped Redmi AX6 system also supports not only the 2×2 MIMO 160MHz bandwidth mode but also the adaptive dynamic switching of 160MHz/80MHz bandwidth. Devices with 160MHz bandwidth and devices with 80MHz bandwidth can be connected at the same time. Not only one exists.
Router configuration interface, Redmi AX6 has the same functions as most products on the market, with a lot of necessary functions, and special switches for Wi-Fi 6 are also provided. It is worth mentioning that the factory system of Redmi AX6 also supports Mesh, so you can see that there is an option to add Mesh nodes in the upper right corner.
Another convenience is that the Redmi AX6 system supports self-checking and repairing of faults. As long as common problems such as IP conflicts and failure to obtain IP in the local area network, they can be softly repaired through its webpage. The problem may involve restarting and reconfiguring multiple routers. Now this operation saves a lot of trouble.
Read Also: Xiaomi Redmi Router AX6 Released: The Price is 399 Yuan ($57.44)
Redmi AX6 Verdict
Although Redmi AX6 is not a pure shell replacement product like Redmi AX5, the configuration has also been adjusted, but considering the price advantage of Redmi AX6 as high as 200 yuan, this part of the configuration change is also acceptable. After all, the core specifications are still not bad, and the multi-concurrency advantage of six antennas still exists. The mission of Redmi AX6 is not to replace Xiaomi AX3600, but to fill the gap between its flagship product and entry-level product.
Regardless of the appearance and design, which is a multifaceted element, purely compared with the flagship Xiaomi AX3600 in terms of performance and experience, Redmi AX6 is consistent in terms of processor, wireless chip, number of spatial streams, etc., with a large area The heat dissipation plate + the ventilation design through the top and bottom makes people have full confidence in its heat dissipation. It can also exert the full power of the Qualcomm Pro 600 platform.
Of course, in the details, Redmi AX6 made some compromises, the power amplifier chip is slightly inferior, and the ROM capacity is also reduced to 128MB, but it should be noted that this configuration level is exactly the same as the Xiaomi AX1800 and Redmi AX5, which means that it is 200 cheaper The Redmi AX6 after RMB, although there are some shortcomings, the overall performance is not bad, but the cost performance is greatly improved.
In general, the performance of Redmi AX6 is between that of Xiaomi AX3600 and Redmi AX5/Xiaomi AX1800. Under the price difference of 200 yuan, it still retains the Qualcomm Pro 600 platform and 6 antennas, these irreparable hardware advantages, although the limit Under the conditions, the signal strength will suffer slightly, this will not affect it in the general use environment. There is no doubt that it is the most cost-effective choice for 6-antenna Wi-Fi6 routing.