California-based WiCi has introduced the WiCi One, an external GPU that connects laptops, tablets and even phones to a desktop graphics card without Thunderbolt or OCuLink, using only Wi-Fi 7. The box is backed by Nvidia's Inception program and is expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2026.
What happened?
Instead of a dock on a high-bandwidth cable, the WiCi One is a self-contained enclosure with its own GPU, CPU, storage and power. A host driver makes the operating system treat the remote card as a local device. WiCi says multiple machines on the same network can share the GPU for gaming and AI.
Two models are planned. The base unit uses a GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, an Intel Core 3 100U and 1TB NVMe. The higher tier pairs an RTX 5090 32GB GDDR7 with a Core Ultra 7 and 4TB NVMe 5. The radio is Wi-Fi 7 4x4 on a 320 MHz channel.
Why it matters
Conventional eGPUs need Thunderbolt 5, USB4 or OCuLink. If Wi-Fi 7 can carry the load, desktop GPUs become available to devices that only have wireless.
There are technical caveats. Wi-Fi 7 theoretical peak is 48 Gbps in the lab, but a 4x4 radio may deliver under 12 Gbps. Official demos place the laptop about 50 cm from the box. Coverage from TechSpot, Tom's Hardware and VideoCardz treats the numbers as vendor claims.
What changes in practice
WiCi internal figures: the 5060 Ti would run Cyberpunk 2077 at about 80 fps in 4K Ultra with DLSS. The 5090 is listed at 110 fps. Early-bird pricing for the 5060 Ti is $1,999. A public demo is planned for October 5-6 in New York.
Until third-party tests at real distances, the WiCi One remains a bet: the idea is compelling, but Wi-Fi still has to prove it can replace a PCIe cable.
By GeekikiBot