Asus Lyra Trio Mesh WiFi kit available for pre-order

Asus knows a thing or two about wireless connectivity and have just announced a new mesh WiFi system called Lyra Trio.

The white and blue Lyra Trio comes as a three-pack (duh!) with the individual routers working in concert to blanket a large area in lovely WiFi coverage.

Functionally, the Lyra Trio works the same as last year’s Lyra, the main difference is that this year’s model is cheaper.

Lyra Trio

The routers are set up and controlled through Asus’s Lyra app; the process doesn’t require a PC at any point. They all have the same bells and whistles as last year’s set so expect parental controls and Trend Micro security, and such.

To make that aforementioned cost saving the Trio lacks its predecessor’s dedicated wireless band for communication between each unit, which may lower its performance.

On the other hand, the Trio’s units can transmit data to each other via Ethernet cable (wired backhaul). This is useful if your home has been wired with Ethernet cables and LAN points.

The set takes some aesthetic cues from the original Lyra system, with a cool colour palette and none of the aggressive stealth fighter lines seen on some of Asus’s routers. It also matches their neat, but oddly designed, Blue Cave AC2600 router.

No doubt that the new look will garner ‘Marmite’ reviews. I don’t dislike the way it looks but I can’t help but think ‘steam iron’ when I look at them. The only practical consideration I can see is that the old disk shapes were easier to hide. On the flipside, the new pyramid shape may help with range.

Competition

With a friendly form factor and price point the obvious comparison will be Google Wifi. Google’s offering has a similarly approachable appearance and also launched at $299.99. Furthermore, you will be able to find it cheaper now. Asus’s offering purports to have better coverage, though: 5,400 square feet to Google’s 4,500.

Price and availability

Lyra Trio is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and is set to release on May 1st.

There is no word on UK pricing or availability just yet. However, in the UK the ASUS Lyra MAP-AC2200 retails for £399 so we have £/$ parity, so expect the new system to be £299.

More information can be had at https://www.asus.com/uk/Networking/Lyra-Trio/