PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Aruba AP-535
Aruba AP-535
★ 3.2 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
  • Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4 MU-MIMO
  • Aggregate Throughput: 3.55 Gbps (2.4 Gbps @ 5GHz, 1.15 Gbps @ 2.4GHz)
  • Radios (bands): Dual-band (5 GHz, 2.4 GHz)
  • Uplink Port Speed: 2 x HPE Smart Rate RJ-45 (up to 5 Gbps)
  • Max Clients: 1,024 per radio (2,048 total)
  • PoE Requirement: 802.3at (PoE+) or 802.3bt (PoE++)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: High-density support for up to 1,024 clients per radio; Integrated BLE 5.0 and Zigbee for IoT applications; Dual multi-gigabit (5GbE) uplink ports for redundancy and bandwidth
  • ✘ Cons: High initial capital expenditure compared to mid-range Wi-Fi 6 APs; Requires high PoE budget (PoE+/PoE++) for full feature set; Large physical size and weight (1.27kg) compared to standard APs
  • Est. Price: $900 - $1,600

Compare Against

Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro
Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro
★ 4.8 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
  • Spatial Streams (MIMO): 6 (2x2 MIMO on 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands)
  • Aggregate Throughput: 9.3 Gbps
  • Radios (bands): Tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz)
  • Uplink Port Speed: 2.5 GbE RJ45
  • Max Clients: 300+
  • PoE Requirement: PoE+ (802.3at)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Industry-leading Wi-Fi 7 value; 6 GHz support with 320 MHz channel width; 2.5 GbE uplink for high-speed backhaul; seamless UniFi ecosystem integration.
  • ✘ Cons: Requires PoE+ (won't run on standard PoE); limited to 2x2 MIMO per band; can run significantly warm during operation; 2.5 GbE port is a potential bottleneck for peak wireless speeds.
  • Est. Price: $189 - $215

Popular Comparisons

Aruba AP-535 vs Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Max Aruba AP-535 vs Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Wall Aruba AP-535 vs Ubiquiti U7 Pro Max Aruba AP-535 vs Ubiquiti U7 Pro Aruba AP-535 vs Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro