Ubiquiti is wasting no time starting out 2024 with some new reveals. Today, we have the new Swiss Army Knife Ultra hitting the scene, delivering an indoor and outdoor access point that we can only hope lives up to its ambitious name. But with Wi-Fi 5 at the center of the experience, things aren’t looking good.
With a name like the Swiss Army Knife Ultra, this access point has a lot to live up to. The specs at least back that up in many regards, with a very versatile feature set – at least on paper. The new debut arrives with an IPX6 weather-resistance rating that means you can mount it outdoors, as well as inside. There’s a UV-stabilized polycarbonate shell to help with outdoor installations, as well as an included pole mount that tackles the same use case.
It has a compact design that ditches the usual circular build for a more rectangular form-factor, while featuring PoE support so you don’t have to run multiple lines to power and supply internet. Its actual networking specs yield 1,250-square feet of coverage, with support for as many as 200 devices. There’s a 2×2 MIMO radio, as well as dual RP-SMA connectors that let you connect optional external antennas for even better range.
But I think I am getting a little too ahead of myself, because I forgot to mention that this is a Wi-Fi 5 access point. I’m not sure why Ubiquiti is still set on releasing new debuts in 2024 that are based around the previous-generation wireless networking standard, but here we are. Wi-Fi 6 has already become pretty common place amongst devices at all price point, and so it’s just downright silly that a new release wouldn’t just adopt one of the newer radios. Not to mention the fact that there are Wi-Fi 7 routers on the market, so this does already feel out of date.
The Swiss Army Knife Ultra debuts with a $109 price tag, which is at least befitting of its Wi-Fi 5 specs. I don’t want to say that this excuses relying on an older standard, because it doesn’t. But if you’re in need of a weather-resistant expansion to your UniFi network, then this isn’t the worst option around. It’s flexibility with support for external antennas and multiple mounting options makes this a one-size-fits-all type of approach, but there’s something so wrong about deploying a Wi-Fi 5 access point in the year 2024. At least for home usage.
I can see this being a big hit with far larger deployments than anything I will ever have the pleasure of owning as part of my home network. I’ve worked with networks that cover thousands of students and employees in the past, and having an access point that can be used both indoors and out certainly helps with keeping it simple. So I see what Ubiquiti was going for with the Swiss Army Knife Ultra, I just wish it had Wi-Fi 6!
So while this might be the first Ubiquiti release in 2024, it feels like it should have come out back in the 2010s…
Catch up on UniFi Diary pieces at 9to5Toys:
- Ubiquiti debuts new UniFi Express AiO mesh Wi-Fi 6 router for just $149
- UniFi Diary: Detailing my 80TB Synology NAS, Mac mini, and Ubiquiti setup
- UniFi Diary: After 3 years with the USG, I’m finally upgrading to the Dream Machine Pro
- UniFi Diary: Wi-Fi 6 is finally here, but is it worth upgrading your Ubiquiti setup?
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