I've checked Netgear, Linksys, Asus and all have issues.
Every brand has issues for some subset of users.. even Apple routers as evidenced by this forum area.
Many reviews which are done early in the life of a product don't revise or test sufficiently long periods to see how later firmware will fix most of the issues.. Also AX or wifi6 if you prefer is quite new on the market and getting drivers working has taken some time.. as well as fine tuning the wireless which takes quite a while.
I have used Asus routers for several years and really like them for the above the average firmware. I use AC models which I bought a few years ago.. and got a friend on the latest AX model.. RT-AX86U.. which works very well in highly Apple household.
Also used Netgear and TP-Link without issues.
I find the TP-Link firmware in particular basic.. but functional.
Netgear depends so much as they have so many routers on the market.
I find neither company update firmware as often as Asus. TP-Link very rare after a few bug releases.
Most routers now have phone app configuration with cloud sign in... but all the main routers still have internal web setup pages.. as well as consoles if you want something more pro level.
Mesh has tended to use phone apps only with a few exceptions.
Read reviews here.. I find this guy does better than average testing and longer term reviews on products he likes.
https://dongknows.com/reviews/buying-guide/
I like his take on the cloud vs local setup for mesh.
https://dongknows.com/web-interface-vs-mobile-app/
Asus do a better job than most and include Time Machine compatibility in all their higher end models.. to USB3 disk.
However all are AFP based due to SMB3 using too large a memory footprint for router Flash and RAM.
Synology do not make AX routers and may never do so.. but the RT2600AC is popular if somewhat overpriced with Apple crowd.
They are one of the few to really target Apple market.
https://www.synology.com/en-au/solution/AirPort_replacement
The firmware is unique and modelled on the NAS version.. so it is going to require some learning.
Mesh functionality is also included in the higher end routers. Asus have AiMesh.. it works well with ethernet backbone. Synology also have mesh options. Some Netgear and TP-Link are also heading down that road.. but if you want mesh.. IMHO it is better to buy products designed as mesh from ground up. The fine tuning is a lot better particularly where you don't have ethernet.
