The SpaceX satellite internet service Starlink has just introduced its latest residential kit, letting users connect to the satellite network using a smaller and lighter terminal. The company announced the Starlink V5 on X, saying that it could hit up to 375+ Mbps for “streaming, video calling, gaming, and more.” It’s currently available in select areas only, though, with wider availability expected later as the company ramps up production.

The new unit is significantly smaller and lighter than the Standard 4 used in most home deployments, and brings it close to the Starlink Mini, which is designed for both fixed and portable use. However, the Starlink V5 still requires a router (included), whereas the Mini can work without one, providing a wireless connection using its built-in Wi-Fi antenna. Still, the former is faster, offering speeds of up to 375+ Mbps. Although this is 25 Mbps slower than the 400+ Mbps that the Standard 4 is rated for, it’s still higher than the up to 300+ Mbps that SpaceX has set for the Mini.

The changes that SpaceX made to the Starlink V5 would make it much easier to set up, which is especially helpful for users who prefer to DIY their Starlink setup. Another interesting update to the new terminal is that it can handle faster wind speeds while mounted despite being lighter than the Standard 4. This should help it withstand tougher meteorological conditions, especially in areas frequently battered by storms and tornadoes.

The much lower average power consumption, which is just about half of what the previous-generation Starlink terminals consumed, would also help power stations last longer, making it ideal for keeping communications alive, especially during emergencies. This is exactly what Japan is experimenting with, as Tokyo has started putting up Starlink antennas on fire hydrant signs to provide emergency Wi-Fi.

Although SpaceX and its owner, Elon Musk, are no strangers to controversy, Starlink has proven useful in various situations. Aside from being useful for first responders in disaster zones, it also helped Ukraine stay connected during the height of Russia’s invasion of the country in 2024. It has even gotten to the point that China simulated a Starlink blockade over Taiwan because of how useful the service is in keeping a government online and communicating with its allies during times of distress.

The Wi-Fi router market is facing headwinds as consumers pull back on spending. According to a new report from Counterpoint, we’re witnessing a softening in global consumer Wi-Fi router shipments, with a 6 percent YoY decline in Q1 2026. This decline follows an explosion of market growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, when consumers upgraded their Wi-Fi hardware to enhance their work-from-home capabilities.

Counterpoint notes that global Wi-Fi router shipments peaked in 2021, which was at the height of consumer hardware spending during the pandemic. There were some positive points in the report, with Asus and Google seeing global shipment increases of 3.8 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, during Q1 2026. However, Xiaomi had a 1.3 percent shortfall, Netgear was down 3 percent, while TP-Link fell by 5.4 percent. Counterpoint also notes that “Others,” which includes dozens of other hardware vendors whose sales aren’t significant enough to be broken out individually, fell by 10.4 percent.

Since 2021, global shipments have declined by almost 34 percent, and a couple of factors explain this turn of events. For starters, many people who upgraded their Wi-Fi hardware in 2021 or 2022 simply see no reason to shift to newer technology. Even though the best Wi-Fi routers use the Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) standard, offering multi-gig speeds across the 6 GHz and 5 GHz bands, those performance benefits are not enticing consumers on the sidelines because of rising costs for more essential goods.

Another reason global shipments of consumer routers have seen a steady decline is that ISPs have become more adept at bundling higher-end networking hardware with their services. Whether you’re signing up for new fiber, cable, or 5G home internet service, ISPs are including routers with integrated Wi-Fi 6, 6E, or 7 wireless connectivity. For customers with non-demanding network needs, this ISP-provided hardware is sufficient. For example, T-Mobile provides a Wi-Fi 7 gateway with its $60/month 5G home internet plan and a Wi-Fi 7 gateway plus a mesh extender with its $70/month plan.

Speaking of mesh systems, this is one of the few bright points for hardware vendors. Counterpoint notes that mesh Wi-Fi systems have seen significant growth as consumers seek to blanket every area of their homes with wireless coverage to support a substantial number of connected devices. Amazon’s Eero and Google’s Nest mesh Wi-Fi router systems were called out specifically for their strong performance (driven in part by high brand recognition and heavy sales promotions). The gaming router segment also bucked the decline in the broader Wi-Fi router market, as online gaming enthusiasts seek a competitive edge with lower latency and higher available network bandwidth.

There’s a possibility we could see a rebound in sales in the second half of 2026 and into early 2027 as the first Wi-Fi 8 hardware enters the market. However, Wi-Fi 8 is seen as more of a quality-of-life upgrade than another leap in performance over previous Wi-Fi generations.