You're viewing a single thread.
It's Wi-Fi 6, a new version of the Wi-Fi standard which provides increased bandwidth and decreased latency.
I don't know why it's relevant to show it directly in the icon though.
My device always shows the WiFi number. It's nice to know since I live in an apartment building with shared wifi. The shared wifi is 4/5 and mine is 6 so I can see at a glance if I'm connected right.
I can't imagine another reason it'd be useful though.
6 is old news. 6e is where its at with 2.4, 5, and 6ghz support.
Even 6e is not the latest anymore. Wifi 7 is rolling out now
Wifi 7 is so hot right now.
Seems like consistency with showing 4G/5G/etc.. Nice to know if you're on public WiFi.
It may be beneficial on some devices that requires low latency (like streaming to a VR device or remote gaming). I can see the difference in latency from wifi5 to wifi6 when remote gaming.