Wi-Fi is the wireless local area network technology defined by the IEEE 802.11 standards and certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It runs mainly in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, with 6 GHz added in Wi-Fi 6E, and connects a device directly to an existing router, so no dedicated gateway is needed.
For IoT, that convenience is the main attraction: a camera, a smart plug or a voice assistant can join the home or office network that is already there and talk straight to the internet. The trade-off is power. A Wi-Fi radio draws far more current than a Bluetooth Low Energy or Zigbee radio, which is why battery-powered sensors tend to avoid it and why many products keep Wi-Fi only on the mains-powered hub. The IoT connectivity overview compares the options.
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