Asus has unveiled its first generation of Wi-Fi 8 networking hardware, detailing two ROG Rapture standalone routers and a multi-gigabit ZenWiFi mesh system ahead of the IEEE 802.11bn standard's formal ratification.
The announcement establishes an early hardware footprint for Wi-Fi 8, which emphasizes deterministic latency and connection reliability over raw bandwidth increases. As reported by Dong Knows Tech, Asus designed the new products as direct successors to its existing Wi-Fi 7 lineup, mirroring port layouts and physical chassis while transitioning to the upcoming 802.11bn protocol.
Leading the standalone hardware is the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro, a quad-band gaming router aimed at the North American market, accompanied by the regional GT-BN98 variant for Europe. Both models reuse the eight-antenna enclosure seen on the GT-BE98 generation and feature identical core processing hardware, running a 2.6 GHz quad-core processor paired with 2 GB of DDR4 RAM and 256 MB of flash memory. Wired connectivity remains substantial, offering two 10 Gbps ports, four 2.5 Gbps ports, a single gigabit LAN port, and dual USB ports (one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0).
The distinction between the two router models centers on spectrum allocation. The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro carries a BN30000 rating by splitting the 6 GHz spectrum across two distinct 4x4 bands, each supporting up to 11,525 Mbps with 320 MHz channels, alongside a 5 GHz band at 5,762 Mbps and a 2.4 GHz band at 1,376 Mbps. In contrast, the GT-BN98 shifts the split to the 5 GHz band, providing two 5 GHz networks at 5,762 Mbps each and a single 6 GHz band, resulting in a BN25000 rating. Both variants support 4096-QAM and Multi-Link Operation across all frequencies.
For whole-home deployments, Asus announced the ZenWiFi BN12, an upcoming mesh system rated at BN19000. Each identical BN12 node incorporates two 10 Gbps ports and three 2.5 Gbps ports, with Asus estimating coverage at 3,500 square feet per unit. According to Asus, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro and GT-BN98 are slated to arrive in late 2026, with retail availability expected in Canada before reaching the United States pending regulatory reviews, while the ZenWiFi BN12 will follow in 2027.
