Why You Can Trust CNET Asus' Blue Cave router is a lot more than just a big hole
The hole itself has its own technical purpose.
The Blue Cave router.
If, for any reason, you ever wish to put your hand through your router, you can now do just that with Asus' latest, the Blue Cave. Unlike any other router I've seen, this one has a huge hole right in the middle.
This striking new design is not just for kicks, however. According to Asus, the hole serves as insulation between the route's internal antennas, which are on top part of the unit, and its latest Intel Wi-Fi chipset, which is on the bottom. This means the two won't interfere with each other to deliver optimal performance.
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While the front of the router is super sleek, you'll still find the ports you need on the back.
As for Wi-Fi specs, Asus says the Blue Cave is a AC2600-class router, which places it between RT-AC87U and the RT-AC88U. And like its older siblings, it also incorporates free Asus AiProtection powered by TrendMicro, which protects the entire network -- including IoT devices -- from online threats.
What's more, the Blue Cave is the first Asus model that also has a new feature called Family Overview, a monitoring tool that can be easily accessed via a mobile device. The router also includes IFTTT support, meaning users can use it to monitor IFTTT-enabled smart home devices.
Beyond that, this is a standard 802.11ac router. It has four gigabit LAN ports (for wired clients) one gigabit WAN (internet) port to connect to a broadband modem, and one USB 3.0 port to host a peripheral device. Asus says that, like all AC2600 routers, its Wi-Fi is fast enough to deliver 4K UHD video streaming with no lags.
Other details on the router are still sketchy, but it likely will be available later this year at a suggested price of less than $200.
Be sure to check out the rest of CNET's Computex 2017 coverage here.
