TRENDnet’s TEW-828DRU Router Packs Dual 802.11ac Radios Under Its Hood

It’s not often that I feel compelled to call a mere router a “monster”, but I think it’s an apt description of TRENDnet’s just-announced “AC3200 Tri Band”. In fact, this router is more like a three-in-one, with two separate AC 1300Mbps radios placed alongside an N 600Mbps one. “AC3200” = 1300Mbps + 1300Mbps + 600Mbps. Isn’t marketing fun?

The reason this router packs dual 802.11ac networks under its hood is to help alleviate the stress that normal routers are put under in households that have many Wi-Fi connected devices. With TRENDnet’s “SmartConnect”, the router will decide which one of these AC connections a given device will be assigned to. If a device’s requirements are low, for example, it’ll be put on one, whereas if it’s a little hungrier for bandwidth, it’ll be put on the other.

Because this router is designed for heavier workloads, TRENDnet equips it with a 1GHz dual-core processor which is backed by Broadcom’s 5G XStream platform. Rounding out its features, the TEW-828DRU offers USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports (an exact number is not given), and implements six antennas to help keep connections fast, and stable.

TRENDnet’s TEW-828DRU will become available next month, carries a three-year warranty, and will be priced at a wallet-punishing $279.99.