Industry's first Wi-Fi 7 IoT tri-radio device optimised for IoT

Infineon Technologies AG has introduced the AIROC ACW741x, a new product family that integrates a tri-radio with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth LE 6.0 with Channel Sounding, and IEEE 802.15.4 Thread, with Matter ecosystem support in a single device. This product family introduces the industry's first 20MHz Wi-Fi 7 device for IoT, provides Wi-Fi 7 Multi-Link for IoT for enhanced robustness in congested environments and has the industry's lowest Wi-Fi connected standby power.

With the IoT connectivity market projected to reach 30 billion devices by 2030, IoT device manufacturers continue to demand reliable, energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions. The Wi-Fi Alliance is introducing the 20MHz device category for Wi-Fi 7, aimed at addressing the needs of the wider IoT ecosystem, and the AIROC ACW741x is the industry's first product to support 20MHz-only channels, with optimised radio performance and ultra-low power consumption.

As Wi‑Fi–connected IoT devices proliferate across homes and commercial environments, spectrum congestion and interference increasingly undermine wireless connectivity and performance. With Wi‑Fi 7 Multi‑Link for IoT, the device boosts link reliability with Adaptive Band Switching to mitigate congestion and interference. By maintaining concurrent links across 2.4, 5, and 6GHz, Wi‑Fi 7 Multi‑Link for IoT delivers a more consistent, always‑connected experience for applications such as security cameras, video doorbells, alarm systems, medical devices, and HVAC systems.

"We are committed to our mission of connecting all types of IoT devices by offering robust performance, low-power devices that are easy to integrate," said Sivaram Trikutam, senior vice president of Wireless Products, Infineon Technologies. "As an increasing number of devices have multi-protocol use cases, an integrated tri-band single-chip device with the industry's lowest Wi-Fi standby power allows suppliers to achieve reliable performance for increasingly congested smart-home and commercial environments."

The product family has an optimised 20MHz design to achieve the industry's lowest power consumption, and is ideal for battery-operated applications such as security cameras, door locks, and thermostats that require ultra-low Wi-Fi connected standby power. Compared to other IoT Wi-Fi products on the market, the device offers up to 15x lower standby power consumption, which delivers exceptionally longer battery life.

"From the smart home to the factory floor, Wi-Fi 7 improves deterministic behaviour, scheduling efficiency, and robustness of IoT devices in dense environments, bringing an overall network quality upgrade and providing a connectivity foundation for a wide range of IoT applications," said Kevin Robinson, CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. "With the recent extension of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 capabilities to 20MHz-only devices, Wi-Fi Alliance will deliver the benefits of Wi-Fi 7 for new device categories, enabling the next wave of IoT innovation across smart home, industrial, and healthcare settings. The introduction of 20MHz Wi-Fi 7 IoT solutions, such as those being introduced by Infineon, will unlock widespread Wi-Fi 7 adoption across the IoT market."

The ACW741x also integrates wireless sensing capabilities, which adds contextual awareness to smart IoT devices to create differentiated offerings such as home automation and personalisation. Wi-Fi CSI 802.11bf enables enhanced Wi-Fi sensing with intelligence sharing between same-network devices, whereas Channel Sounding delivers accurate, secure, low-power ranging with centimetre-level accuracy.

Combining extensive on-chip integration, including transmit/receive switches, power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, power management, and a low-power oscillator, with a QFN package that enables low-cost two-layer PCB designs, the ACW741x provides a cost-efficient migration path to Wi‑Fi 7.