Which smartphone was the first to support Wi-Fi 6?

The Samsung Galaxy S10 was the first smartphone to support Wi-Fi 6.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S10 family on February 20, 2019, and its Wi-Fi hardware supported the new 802.11ax standard, later branded Wi-Fi 6. The S10, S10+, S10e, and S10 5G were among the earliest phones built for the standard, with the original S10 commonly identified as the first Wi-Fi 6 phone.

Wi-Fi 6 was designed to improve performance in crowded networks rather than simply increase peak speed. Technologies such as OFDMA and improved scheduling allow a compatible router to serve many devices more efficiently. The standard also introduced features such as Target Wake Time, which can help compatible devices conserve battery.

The iPhone 11 is an easy mix-up because it also supports Wi-Fi 6, but Apple introduced that model later in 2019. Wi-Fi 6 support also requires a compatible router; an S10 connected to an older router will not receive Wi-Fi 6 benefits.