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It's not just about speed. I live in an apartment block where so many people have got WiFi networks and Bluetooth devices that the 2.4GHz band has become heavily congested. These days, I need 802.11ac on the 5GHz band just to get a connection on my tablet in the bedroom to the router in the hallway ...

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There is 5GHz N. Not as common in devices or routers though.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a 80211n device that _didn't_ support 5GHz.

A lot of low end consumer devices don't. For example the PS Vita supports N but not 5GHz, nor do most kindles until the latest Paperwhite. It was also super common for cheap $400 laptops in 2011 to have N but not 5Ghz support.

I believe Nintendo didn’t support it until the Switch, surprisingly - the WiiU was 2.4 only.

Not for the internet but Wii U uses 5GHz for streaming to the gamepad.

Guess that explains the poor range issue people cited back in its heydey.

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