If your home network has ever felt like a tangle of cables and compromises, the new FRITZ!Box generation announced at IFA 2026 is squarely aimed at you. FRITZ! has lifted the curtain on the FRITZ!Box DSL/Fiber 7-90, a flagship that blends a clean, minimalist look with serious multi-gig connectivity and smart home integration. It is the first model in a new design era for the brand and it brings Wi-Fi 7, dual fiber and DSL compatibility, and efficiency-minded engineering into a single, future-ready router.
A design rethink for the modern living space
Routers are often hidden because they are clutter magnets. FRITZ! tackled that head on with a chassis that favors simplicity and robustness. The 7-90 has a one-button, one-LED interface and a thoughtful cable management system that routes all connections invisibly to the underside. That design choice frees the top of the unit for optimal antenna placement, improving signal strength regardless of whether you set it on a shelf, stand it upright, or mount it on a wall.
The hardware has been built to endure. FRITZ! says the casing has been intensively tested for durability and that the integrated wall mount aligns with existing drill holes from popular older models like the FRITZ!Box 7590, a small but welcome nod to upgraders.
Under the shell, passive cooling pulls heat away without a fan. The result is a quieter, more efficient device that draws an average of just 12 watts, the lowest in its FRITZ! class for comparable DSL and fiber performance. It is a design direction that has already caught the attention of judges, with the 7-90 nominated for the German Design Award.
One box for fiber and DSL, plus serious Wi-Fi 7
Where many routers force you to pick your connection type, the FRITZ!Box 7-90 is a true multi-broadband device. It supports fiber with GPON up to 2.5 Gbit/s and AON up to 1 Gbit/s, whether you connect directly or via an ONT. On the copper side, it handles DSL with 35b supervectoring up to 300 Mbit/s. That flexibility means the same router can follow you from a DSL line today to a fiber install tomorrow.
Wireless is anchored by tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with Multi-Link Operation. The combined throughput reaches up to 12.2 Gbit/s: 5760 Mbit/s on 6 GHz, 5760 Mbit/s on 5 GHz, and 688 Mbit/s on 2.4 GHz. In practical terms, that means lower latency for gaming and video calls, higher sustained throughput for 4K and 8K streaming, and more consistent performance for households thick with phones, laptops, and smart devices. FRITZ! Mesh is on board to extend coverage with additional access points while maintaining a single seamless network name.
Wired devices are well catered for too. The port layout includes one 2.5 Gbit/s WAN or LAN, one additional 2.5 Gbit/s LAN, two more gigabit LANs, and a USB port for storage or printers. It is a balanced setup for homes and small offices that mix high throughput desktops, consoles, and NAS boxes.
Smart home and telephony without extra hubs
Beyond Wi-Fi, the 7-90 acts as a central hub for both telephony and smart home devices. Integrated DECT and Zigbee bring cordless phones, thermostats, plugs, lights, and sensors into one ecosystem. Telephony options cover DECT handsets, IP or SIP services, and a single analog port for legacy gear. For many users, that means one less base station or bridge cluttering a shelf.
The software side is handled by FRITZ!OS 8.50. As usual, it comes with user-friendly touches and a deep feature set, including VPN, parental controls, guest Wi-Fi, a media server, and FRITZ!NAS for simple home file sharing. Setup is streamlined via the MyFRITZ!App, a small but notable quality of life improvement if you prefer tapping through a phone over diving into a web UI.
Clarity in naming, focus on Europe
With this launch, FRITZ! is also introducing a clearer naming scheme. Models will list the connection type first, followed by a number pairing that reflects Wi-Fi generation and series. For buyers and retailers alike, that should make it easier to match a box to a line type and feature set at a glance.
Like other FRITZ! gear, the 7-90 is developed and produced in Europe. FRITZ! positions that as a contribution to the region’s digital resilience, an angle that may resonate with buyers who prioritize local design and manufacturing.
The bottom line
The FRITZ!Box DSL/Fiber 7-90 looks like a strong statement for the next wave of home networking. It modernizes the look and feel of the router, makes meaningful gains in energy efficiency, and pairs flexible broadband support with Wi-Fi 7 performance that can keep pace with heavy multi-device households. Add integrated smart home and telephony, and you have a single box that can simplify the stack while raising the bar for speed and stability.
IFA visitors can see the 7-90 in person from September 4 to 8 at stand 111 in hall 7c. For everyone else, watch this space. If this first model is any indication, the new FRITZ!Box generation is lining up to be as much about thoughtful design as raw throughput, and that is a welcome direction for homes and small offices alike.
