Netgear’s $499.99 5G hotspot lets you swap eSIMs at will

Netgear announced its latest mobile hotspot today, Nighthawk 5G M7which will be available in January, along with a new mobile app and an eSIM marketplace where you can buy local SIM cards for more than 140 countries. The M7 comes unlocked for $499.99, making it a less expensive alternative to the unlocked version of Netgear’s premium M6 Pro Hotspot.

The M7 features Wi-Fi 7 with speeds of up to 3.6Gbps and support for up to 32 connected devices, which you can also connect wired via USB-C or using an Ethernet adapter. It also includes a firewall, WPA3 encryption, and automatic firmware updates, along with Netgear’s Advanced Router Protection, which helps detect and prevent attacks on your router and allows for live security patches. Additionally, you have the option to use physical SIMs or eSIMs.

The M7 provides up to 10 hours of continuous connectivity per charge and can also act as a power bank. That’s a few hours less battery life than the advertised 13 hours you get with the M7 Pro, but it should be enough to tide you over if you need to find an outlet.

The eSIM marketplace is the biggest upgrade over previous Netgear hotspots. From the Netgear app, you can view, purchase, and activate local data plans for the M7 — a feature that could come in handy for anyone who travels frequently internationally. Data plans in the market will range from 3GB to 20GB, and you will be able to view real-time usage from the app.