With the unexpected success of 802.11ac Wave 1 and 802.11ax on the horizon, it seems that the value proposition of 802.11ac Wave 2 is lost before it has arrived. And, perhaps rightfully so. One should wait.
The vast majority of Wi-Fi deployments are evolving toward high density scenarios. Hospitals, schools, residential apartments, stadiums etc. and 802.11ax is designed for that.
+ MORE ON WAVE 2: 802.11ac Wave 2: Sooner Than You Think, Part 2 +
We live in an era where human experience has become the driver. and all existing 802.11 standards were focused on improving peak link throughput or aggregate throughput. 802.11ax focuses on the metrics that reflect user experience such as individual user throughput, individual user performance in high density areas, power efficiency when using battery powered devices etc.
And, lastly, outdoor usage of Wi-Fi is growing. Events, streets, parks, everywhere. Outdoor is characterized by propagation challenges and 802.11ax is focused on that.
+ ALSO: Why your business should upgrade to 802.11AC Wave 2 Wi-Fi +
Yes, 802.11ax is not ratified yet (802.11ax is expected to be completed by March 2019); however the chipsets are expected next year. Remember the 802.11n, things in Wi-Fi transition faster than planned) and especially the fact that whatever you deploy in 802.11ac Wave 2 has to be upgraded shortly after.
802.11ac Wave 2 does not offer substantial improvement of performance or experience in comparison to 802.11ac Wave 1
Yes, there are demos by vendors that show that Wave 2 doubles the performance in comparison to 802.11ac Wave 1, however, demos for 802.11ax show 5X to 10X performance improvement! Imagine laptops capable of 10Gbps, mobile phones doing 1Gbps in real world, in a high density world! This is on top of the airtime fairness in high density deployments, better outdoor experience that comes with 802.11ax. Learn more about 802.11ax
As always, I would love to hear your opinion.