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TOKYO, Japan ― Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the RA6W1 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 wireless microcontroller (MCU), along with the RA6W2 MCU that integrates both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) technologies. These connectivity devices address the growing demand for always-connected, ultra-low-power IoT devices across smart home, industrial, medical and consumer applications. Renesas also launched fully integrated modules that accelerate development with built-in antennas, wireless protocol stacks, and pre-validated RF connectivity.

Ultra Low Power Operation for Always-Connected IoT

Today’s IoT devices must stay always connected to improve application usability and response time, while maintaining the lowest possible power consumption to extend battery life or to meet eco-friendly regulations. Renesas’ Wi-Fi 6 MCUs offer features such as Target Wake Time (TWT), which enables extended sleep times without compromising cloud connectivity and power consumption. This is critical for applications such as environmental sensors, smart locks, thermostats, surveillance cameras, and medical monitors, where real-time control, remote diagnostics and over-the-air (OTA) updates are critical.

Additionally, both MCU Groups are optimized for ultra-low power consumption, consuming as little as 200nA to 4µA in sleep mode and under 50µA in Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM10). With the “sleepy connected” Wi-Fi functionality, these devices stay connected with minimal power draw, meeting the growing requirements of modern energy efficiency standards.

Scalable RA MCU Architecture with Full Software Support

Built on the Arm® Cortex®-M33 CPU core running at 160 MHz with 704 KB of SRAM, the MCUs enable engineers to develop cost-effective, standalone IoT applications using integrated communication interfaces and analog peripherals, without the need for an external MCU. Customers also have the option to design with a host MCU that can be selected from Renesas’ broad RA MCU offerings and attach the RA6W1 and RA6W2 as connectivity and networking add-ons. Both RA6W1 and RA6W2 are designed to work with Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP) and e² studio integrated development environment. As the first Wi-Fi MCUs in the RA portfolio, they offer a scalable platform that supports seamless software reuse across the RA family.

High Performance Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 with 2.4 and 5 GHz Connectivity

With support for both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, both MCUs deliver superior throughput, low latency, and reduced power consumption. The dual-band capability dynamically selects the most suitable band based on real-time conditions, ensuring a stable and high-speed connection even in environments with many connected devices. Advanced features such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and TWT boost performance and energy efficiency, making these solutions well suited for dense urban environments and battery-powered devices.

Robust Security and Matter-Certified Interoperability

The RA6W1 and RA6W2 devices offer advanced built-in security including AES-256 encryption, secure boot, key storage, TRNG, and XiP with on-the-fly decryption to keep data safe from unauthorized access. The RA6W1 is RED certified (Radio Equipment Directive), which makes it easier for developers to future-proof their design. Additionally, the device is Matter ready and certified with Matter 1.4, and is compatible across smart home platforms. Renesas supports both MCUs and modules through the Renesas Product Longevity Program, offering 15-year support for MCUs and 10 years for modules.

“We’re offering our customers the flexibility to design with a standalone Wi-Fi device, a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth LE combo, or fully integrated modules depending on their needs,” said Chandana Pairla, VP of the Connectivity Solutions Division at Renesas. “These wireless solutions save power, simplify system design and lower BOM cost. With hosted or hostless implementation options, customers can confidently begin their wireless onboarding journey and seamlessly integrate into next-generation connected systems.”

Two types of modules, Wi-Fi 6 (RRQ61001) and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth LE combo (RRQ61051) simplify design by integrating certified RF components and wireless connectivity stacks that comply with global network standards. Supported RF certification standards include the U.S. (FCC), Canada (IC), Brazil (ANATEL), Europe (CE/RED), UK (UKCA), Japan (Telec), South Korea (KCC), China (SRRC) and Taiwan (NCC). By integrating connectivity at the system level, the modules significantly reduce design effort and accelerate time to market.

Winning Combinations

Renesas offers “Advanced Low-Power Wireless HMI for Household Appliances” and “Automatic Pet Door & Tracking System” that combine the new Wi-Fi 6 MCU and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth LE MCU with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer a wide array of Winning Combinations. Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly. They can be found at renesas.com/win.

Availability

The RA6W1 MCU is now available in FCQFN and WLCSP packages, along with the RRQ61001 and RRQ61051 modules. The RA6W2 MCU (BGA package) will be available in Q1/2026. The devices are supported by the FSP, e² studio, evaluation kit and software development kit (SDK) that include flash memory, PCB trace antennas, connectors and embedded power profiler for power consumption analysis. Renesas also offers comprehensive software tools to aid system application development, as well as the Production Line Tool (PLT) for production testing of wireless MCUs.

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) empowers a safer, smarter and more sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. A leading global provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines our expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These Winning Combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications, enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

(Remarks) All names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.

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Beijing is keeping the renminbi heavily undervalued against the euro, European companies have warned, giving Chinese exporters an advantage and raising the risk of increased trade retaliation.

The warning from the EU Chamber of Commerce in China comes just days after data indicating the country’s annual goods trade surplus will exceed $1tn for the first time.

In a report released on Wednesday, the chamber said the renminbi had weakened to a 10-year low against the euro this year, even though China’s huge trade income should be driving an appreciation of its currency.

Economists say China’s real effective exchange rate — its weighted average against a broader basket of currencies — has depreciated 18 per cent from its peak in March 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prices in China have fallen during that time due to weak domestic demand and industrial oversupply.

“An undervalued renminbi is a subsidy for exports,” said Jens Eskelund, president of the EU chamber. He said this realisation would make it “easier” for China’s trading partners to take retaliatory actions, such as anti-dumping investigations and the imposition of tariffs.

“I think there needs to be a discussion about the real exchange rate . . . on its impact for both the Chinese economy and for China’s trade partners,” Eskelund said.

The People’s Bank of China closely controls the renminbi exchange rate, but Beijing says it abides by market principles and denies manipulating the currency for political purposes.

China has repeatedly reported large trade surpluses with the rest of the world since the pandemic, relying on export growth to offset a weak domestic economy suffering from a property slump.

Instead of a large-scale effort to boost domestic demand, Beijing has prioritised industry, particularly high-tech sectors, as it competes with the US for economic supremacy.

While China’s economies of scale and efficiency are credited with driving the increase in its global export market share, economists say the depreciation of its exchange rate has also played a strong role.

“China’s extraordinary competitiveness can be neatly summarised by movements in its real effective exchange rate,” said HSBC in a report.

Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Mark Sobel, US chair of think-tank OMFIF, called on China to let the renminbi appreciate in a paper last month, saying this would reduce geopolitically sensitive trade surpluses and boost domestic demand by increasing consumers’ spending power.

Jürgen Matthes, analyst at the German Economic Institute in Cologne (IW), also argued in a July report that the euro had appreciated in real terms based on producer prices by more than 40 per cent against the renminbi in the euro area between early 2020 and spring 2025.

Matthes said Europe’s rising trade deficit should have led to higher net demand for the renminbi. “Thus, the yuan should have appreciated if it was floating freely,” he wrote.

China portrays itself as a pillar of global trade in the face of US President Donald Trump’s tariff war.

“I believe that only through open co-operation can we create a larger space for incremental growth,” China’s second-ranked leader, Premier Li Qiang, told a Beijing gathering of officials from international agencies on Tuesday that included IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

The EU chamber report came amid a flurry of surveys by other chambers in Beijing that show foreign companies are still finding it hard to do business in China.

But reports by the German and UK chambers showed some were finding a niche partnering with Chinese companies investing abroad.

In the case of UK companies, conditions were improving for the legal profession after British firms were licensed to open more joint law operations with Chinese counterparts.

Harry Bell, policy and advocacy manager at the British Chamber of Commerce in China, said the joint ventures had contributed to soaring optimism in the legal services sector. The better sentiment was also due to firms’ “ability to help and support Chinese companies going global”, he said.