【文章标题】：Wi-Fi 8 is the first wireless upgrade in years that isn’t chasing speed 【文章标题】：Wi-Fi 8 是多年来首个不追逐速度的无线升级
Wi-Fi upgrades have boiled down to a lot of similar talking points over the past decade or so. Every few years, a new generation of Wi-Fi comes along and promises more speed, more bandwidth, more range, and so on. But now, with Wi-Fi 7 still slowly making its way into homes around the world, things are looking different. 过去十多年来，Wi-Fi 的升级归结起来都是许多相似的宣传要点。每隔几年，新一代 Wi-Fi 就会出现，承诺更高的速度、更大的带宽、更远的覆盖范围等等。但如今，随着 Wi-Fi 7 仍在全球家庭中缓慢普及，情况看起来有所不同。
Wi-Fi 8 is already starting to take shape, and for the first time in a while, it isn’t about speed at all. The IEEE has dubbed this version of Wi-Fi “Ultra High Reliability”, and it’s about time this became the focus. It may not be the most exciting upgrade on paper, but it could be the one you’ll feel the most. Wi-Fi 8 已经开始成形，而且这是多年来第一次，它完全不以速度为目标。IEEE 将这一版 Wi-Fi 称为“超高可靠性”，而这也确实是时候成为焦点了。从纸面上看，它可能不是最令人兴奋的升级，但它可能是你感受最深的一次升级。
Speeds aren’t changing 速度没有变化
At least, not on paper 至少纸面上没有
Since the introduction of Wi-Fi 4 (corresponding to the IEEE 802.11n standard) back in 2009, the maximum theoretical data rate for new versions of Wi-Fi has always increased significantly with each release. Wi-Fi 5 increased the maximum data rate by more than 10 times, and while further increments have been smaller in percentage, speeds have always increased very significantly. 自 2009 年 Wi-Fi 4（对应 IEEE 802.11n 标准）推出以来，每一代新 Wi-Fi 的最大理论数据速率总是大幅提升。Wi-Fi 5 将最大数据速率提高了 10 倍以上，尽管后续增幅在百分比上有所减小，但速度始终有非常显著的提升。
Some improvements have been made to help fight interference and improve throughput in areas with lots of devices connected, but they always felt secondary to the improvements in maximum theoretical speeds. But with Wi-Fi 7 reaching a maximum theoretical throughput of 23Gbit per band, that’s more than enough for the current internet speeds most users have, so it’s arguably time to slow down. 一些改进是为了帮助对抗干扰，并在连接设备众多的区域提高吞吐量，但这些改进始终让人觉得是次要的，比不上最大理论速度的提升。但如今 Wi-Fi 7 每个频段的最大理论吞吐量已达到 23Gbit，对于大多数用户当前的互联网速度来说已经绰绰有余，所以可以说，是时候放慢脚步了。
While Wi-Fi 8 is still in development, the goal this time is very different. This new standard will have approximately the same maximum data rate, support the same number of spatial streams, use the same 4096-QAM modulation, work on the same bands, and support the same 320MHz channel bandwidth compared to Wi-Fi 7. 虽然 Wi-Fi 8 仍在开发中，但这次的目标截然不同。与 Wi-Fi 7 相比，这一新标准将拥有大致相同的最大数据速率，支持相同数量的空间流，使用相同的 4096-QAM 调制，工作在相同的频段，并支持相同的 320MHz 信道带宽。
Instead, the organization is focusing on improving the reliability and the effective throughput of Wi-Fi networks by reducing interference and handling non-ideal conditions more effectively. The stated goals of Wi-Fi 8 include a 25% increase in throughput at different signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) levels, reduce latency by 25% for the 95th percentile scenarios with latency, and decrease MAC protocol data unit loss (MPDU) by 25%. 相反，该组织正专注于通过减少干扰和更有效地处理非理想条件，来提高 Wi-Fi 网络的可靠性和有效吞吐量。Wi-Fi 8 的既定目标包括：在不同信号与干扰加噪声比（SINR）水平下将吞吐量提高 25%，在第 95 百分位时延场景中将延迟降低 25%，并将 MAC 协议数据单元丢失（MPDU）减少 25%。
The official introduction to Wi-Fi 8 pits it against cellular networks, specifically 6G, which it will likely be competing against for a good chunk of its life (Wi-Fi 8 is expected to be finalized in 2028, while 6G should arrive in the early 2030s). Cellular networks notoriously have to handle massive numbers of devices connected at once, so the focus with Wi-Fi 8 is to improve the experience when there are lots of Wi-Fi devices nearby as well. Wi-Fi 8 的官方介绍将其与蜂窝网络进行对比，特别是 6G，在其生命周期的大部分时间里，Wi-Fi 8 很可能都要与 6G 竞争（Wi-Fi 8 预计在 2028 年最终确定，而 6G 应在 2030 年代初到来）。众所周知，蜂窝网络必须同时处理海量连接的设备，因此 Wi-Fi 8 的重点也在于，当附近有大量 Wi-Fi 设备时改善使用体验。
What’s actually new 真正的新变化是什么
Lots of new technology at play 大量新技术正在发挥作用
Since the aim is to improve effective throughput and the overall experience in real-world scenarios, Wi-Fi 8 focuses on introducing or enhancing features that help with those specific aspects. 由于目标是在现实场景中提高有效吞吐量和整体体验，Wi-Fi 8 专注于引入或增强有助于这些特定方面的功能。
One example are Distributed-tone resource units, or DRUs, which allows devices distribute its transmissions across a wider range of bandwidth, resulting in higher transmit power without violating regulations around how much power can be transmitted in a given piece of bandwidth. In practice, this means devices with lower transmit power can still offer more reliable connectivity, which can be especially useful for things like smart home devices that may have weaker antennas. 其中一个例子是分布式音调资源单元（DRU），它允许设备在更宽的带宽范围内分布其传输，从而在不违反给定带宽内可传输功率相关规定的情况下获得更高的发射功率。实际上，这意味着发射功率较低的设备仍能提供更可靠的连接，这对于天线可能较弱的智能家居设备等尤其有用。
Interference mitigation pilots are another notable feature, which aim to help resist interference from unexpected interferences, particularly in unlicensed bands. This new standard will also leverage unequal modulations, allowing each spatial stream to be used more efficiently by adjusting the modulation individually based on the SINR for each one. This also goes along with new Modulation and Coding Schemes (MCS) being added to improve throughput even more. 干扰缓解导频是另一项值得注意的功能，旨在帮助抵御意外干扰，尤其是在非授权频段。这一新标准还将利用非均匀调制，通过根据每个空间流的 SINR 单独调整调制方式，使每个空间流得到更高效的利用。同时，新的调制与编码方案（MCS）也会被加入，以进一步提高吞吐量。
Latency reductions come from new features such as P-EDCA, which helps speed up channel access for prioritized devices while mitigating the effects on non-prioritized devices. Wi-Fi 8 also allows devices to communicate exclusively on non-primary channels, even when the primary channel is busy, allowing for throughput improvements by reducing wasted bandwidth. 延迟降低来自 P-EDCA 等新功能，它有助于加快优先设备的信道接入，同时减轻对非优先设备的影响。Wi-Fi 8 还允许设备仅在非主信道上通信，即使主信道繁忙也可以，从而通过减少浪费的带宽来提高吞吐量。
Other scenarios being addressed include seamless roaming, meaning the transition from one access point to another. The goal is to ensure next to no downtime when moving between access points. Additionally, Wi-Fi 8 should improve connectivity when using multiple access points at the same time, leveraging various coordination features to ensure a more reliable connection and higher throughput in these scenarios. 其他正在解决的场景包括无缝漫游，即从一个接入点过渡到另一个接入点。目标是确保在接入点之间移动时几乎没有中断。此外，Wi-Fi 8 还应改善同时使用多个接入点时的连接性，利用各种协调功能，在这些场景下确保更可靠的连接和更高的吞吐量。
A much-needed change 亟需的改变
There are just too many devices now 现在的设备实在太多了
As much as raw speed improvements are appreciated, the reliability focus for Wi-Fi 8 is sorely needed both at home and in work environments. There are simply massive numbers of devices connected to Wi-Fi networks nowadays, 尽管原始速度的提升令人赞赏，但 Wi-Fi 8 对可靠性的关注在家庭和工作环境中都迫切需要。如今，连接到 Wi-Fi 网络的设备数量简直庞大，