Need to upgrade a 2860 shortly, but reluctant to go to the 2862ac as the wifi will be "old" technology shortly - any timescales on when DrayTek will catch up with their competitors in bringing out 802.11ax wifi? - from memory I've had to wait 6-12 months from the first launches of each new version of wifi before it has appeared on Draytek products.

I think it is fair to say ac is old technology today.
Even though the official WiFi 6 certification programme was only launched in September, the ax standard has been around for more than a year.

However, I don't believe even the regulars on here will know Drayteks plans because I don't think they are Draytek insiders.
A lot will depend on which chipset Draytek use inside their routers? and when that supports WiFi 6.

My 2860 just failed too. I will not be buying today a new router that is not the latest standard (WiFi 6) so that means I can't buy a Draytek (for now).
I'm waiting for Draytek to catch up because my last 4 routers have been Draytek and I trust them but I think the competition has now got better.

If I had to buy a new Draytek then it would be the 2762ac as a stop gap until the 2962ax (my guess at the name).

Well, I still prefer 802.11n in some circumstances as coverage is better. DrayTek will have ax products some time in 2020, but ac is just fine for me.