EnGenius is among the first manufacturers releasing WiFi 7 Access Points, starting with the ECW536, then releasing the ECW526, and now introducing to the market the low-end ECW516L model. Each product has different specifications and features and of course price points.

The entry-level ECW516L is based on Mediatek chipset and supports a 2.5G PoE connection method that is more than enough to cover WiFi 7 speeds. The ECW516L topped around 1347.7Mbps, which is half of what the Asus X670E ProArt 2.5G lan port can achieve (2.467.77Mbps). The price point is there with a $199 entry-level price and support for all unique EnGenius Networking features (Cloud Service), that add value to the EnGenius proposal.

Passing to the ECW526, this is an AP at another level, since it fully supports WiFi 7 and includes a 10G network port. The device can either be powered via PoE (needs 21 watts) or via a DC12V 2A adapter. The performance was solid with all tested PCIe WiFi cards, and the top performance is around 3213.5Mbps surpassing what the 2.5G LAN connection offers, provided that you have a good WiFi7 adapter and be close to AP. The price point now reaches ~$350 and as you understand this isn't a home-oriented AP.

The top-of-the-line ECW536 supports dual 10G ports, one for powering up the device (needs 36Watt PoE injector or DC12V 3A adapter), so it also functions as a 10G switch or simply you can chain connect them to further extend your local network. The AP does allow higher maximum power settings than the other two previous APs, however, we did lower them for test results to be comparable. The performance was good, even though we did notice that in some cases the ECW526 had better numbers. The retail price of the product is ~$550.