More than 10 million access points (APs) were sold in the second quarter of 2026, with Wi-Fi 7 devices accounting for half the market share, according to figures from Dell’Oro Group.

The analyst firm’s Wireless LAN Quarterly Report revealed that amid industrywide record AP shipment volumes, Wi-Fi 7 demand remains strong. Offerings have ramped in recent months, with vendors like Extreme and Adtran moving to take advantage of the latest hardware refresh cycle. The market situation is further enticing as internet service providers (ISPs) face mounting competitive pressure to replace aging in-home hardware to meet rising subscriber performance expectations.

“WLAN average selling prices (ASPs) increased only moderately, while AP shipments soared,” Siân Morgan, senior director at Dell’Oro Group, noted. “Enterprises have squeezed in orders before prices rise further. We expect ASPs to rise throughout the year, reflecting the growing cost of memory components due to the AI build-out."

Dell’Oro Group research suggests that the wireless LAN (WLAN) market grew by double-digits across all regions, with the highest growth being in Europe. The second quarter also represented the highest number of access points with multigig and 10 Gb/s interfaces.

It’s not all sunshine for the wireless market, however. The ongoing memory shortage continues to hamper lead times, with the analyst firm predicting ongoing price rises to continue.

There is some silver lining, though, as a Dell’Oro Group report published earlier this month suggested that the introduction of Wi-Fi 8 could be brought forward as early as 2027 so vendors can circumvent the lack of memory chips. The likes of Broadcom and MediaTek have already revealed apparent Wi-Fi 8-ready offerings – even though the Wi-Fi 8 standard isn’t set to be finalized until at least 2028.

In an op-ed published on SDxCentral in March, Dell’Oro Group’s Morgan predicted that by 2032, more than half the enterprise market will have shifted to Wi-Fi 8.

“Sales of Wi-Fi 7 accounted for over half the market in [the second quarter]. We expect to see some revenue from Wi-Fi 8 as early as next year, but Wi-Fi 7 adoption will continue to rise into 2028,” Morgan added following the latest report.