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Airport Extreme, now or wait?
- Thread starter Midgetinabikini
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There could conceivably be a new Airport Express, since it's still Wireless N, but not an Extreme. Even so, it's unlikely they'd announce it with a new iPhone and (maybe) watch. No one would pay any attention.
It's like a big family gathering where one couple announces a pregnancy and another announces they're having their lawn re-seeded.
Get it now! While there is always room for improvement, I do not see a new AirPort Extreme or AirPort Time Capsule this year. It is a fantastic, simple, capable, and reliable piece of equipment.
At least wait until the 9th.
Apple tends to update the AirPort Extremes on a year and a half basis, which would put them at about being due. Also, given that the new iPhones/iPads are going to be going 802.11ac this fall, there may be motivation to release a minor update to the Extreme or Express to coincide. Or there may not be. But it's only a week away, so you might as well wait.
And for those who are saying that there hasn't been a new standard, so they won't update, that has never stopped Apple before, and it isn't stopping the competition as we've been seeing new 802.11ac routers hit the market this year that have newer, better 802.11ac chipsets, a bump up in antennas from 6 to 8, etc. The AirPort Extremes have always been around the top of the line, so we should expect Apple to eventually follow suit. "When?" is the question.
Apple tends to update the AirPort Extremes on a year and a half basis, which would put them at about being due. Also, given that the new iPhones/iPads are going to be going 802.11ac this fall, there may be motivation to release a minor update to the Extreme or Express to coincide. Or there may not be. But it's only a week away, so you might as well wait.
And for those who are saying that there hasn't been a new standard, so they won't update, that has never stopped Apple before, and it isn't stopping the competition as we've been seeing new 802.11ac routers hit the market this year that have newer, better 802.11ac chipsets, a bump up in antennas from 6 to 8, etc. The AirPort Extremes have always been around the top of the line, so we should expect Apple to eventually follow suit. "When?" is the question.
Or don't buy an Extreme. There are plenty of other routers out there that are better, depending on your needs. No waiting required.
If the Express meets your needs then it is a fantastic router. I personally find it limited by its lack of Gigabit WAN and LAN ports. I recommend a refurbished 5th generation Extreme from Apple Online Store!
I thought an Express (2nd generation) has both WAN and LAN ports. Are they not Gigabit WAN and LAN? What are the differences?
The 2nd generation Express does have both WAN and LAN ports rather than a single configurable port like on previous generations. Both ports only run at 10/100 Mbps which limits your wired network traffic to 100 Mbps. The AirPort Extreme since the second generation has featured Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mbps) Ethernet. Whether this affects you is a question you need to ask yourself.
The wireless network is limited to N speeds. What Internet speed package do you have?
50 Mbps. Does 10/100 mean between 10 and 100 Mbps theoretically and ideally? In reality I only get less than 10 Mbps now from my G router. Will I get better speeds from N router?
buy it used. I got one with a airport express for 120-130 bucks on ebay. You can get one for under 120 with shipping on ebay in the US. Great deal great little machine got one 6+ months ago. Going to be even cheaper now.
Like others have said not much they can update on it.
The airport express which I think sucks is due for an update. One rumor someone here said a while back is they will make the apple tv a airport express tho doubt they'd do that without raising the price a ton
Same with the extreme.
Also its not really a thing you need to upgrade frequently. I still have a 5th generation one that I gave my parents (you can get it for $50 bucks) still works great and I even bought that used. Internet speed has to do with what you pay your provider and what they offer.
I know people that own a 4k tv but don't have HD cable
and don't have a Blu ray player
No. Ethernet is classified by speed. 10/100 simply means that the port is capable of negotiating at a 10 Mbps or a 100 Mbps speed. Technically speaking, your modem will negotiate a 100 Mbps speed with the Express which more than satisfies the 50 Mbps speed you have now.
In simple terms, you have 50 cars to cram onto a roadway area. If you only have a 10 Mbps speed then traffic will be very slow and only ten cars can get by a second. In a 100 Mbps speed, you could put 2x as many cars and still get by with no delays.
I suggested an Extreme because sometimes devices that do network copies and heavy network tasks would fully take advantage of the Gigabit (1000 Mbps) speeds. The Express is by no means a bad piece of equipment and I have eight of them as access points at my school. I would see if you can wait for the September 9th event and see if a new Express comes out. If it doesn't you can get a new Express or a refurbished Extreme both in the sub-$100 mark. Apple refurbished is essentially new. All of the Expresses at my school were Apple refurbs and never had a problem with them whatsoever.
Thanks I will wait until after the 9th and then get an Express or a refurbished Extreme.
I agree. Especially with the Airport devices and Apple TV's, Apple refurb is the way to go! Great discounts for essentially new.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_accessories
Is it possible to use Airport products for (1) range extender and (2) access point? Can I use third party products such as the G router I am replacing?