AirPort Extreme 2011 refurb vs. Express 2013 new

[Prother]

Hey all,

I need to know the difference between AirPort Extreme 2011 refurbished on the apple store, and airport express 2013 new. I figured I'd come here since you people know more about this stuff than me.

I'm not considering any alternatives, so only compare these 2 please. How do the signal ranges compare? Does the 2011 model have airplay? Can both do wireless backup to external USB drive, etc.

Basically which one should I buy?

 

[priitv8]

No Extreme has AirPlay. Only Expresses do.
If you intend to do TM backups to connected USB drive, get the current model as it's the sole AirPort Extreme supported by Apple for TM, besides AirPort TimeCapsule.
Can't speak for the range, as I don't own the new 802.11ac model.

 

[Prother]

Thanks Priit. I think It's odd that they split up features into such similar products, although I understand the intended functions are somewhat different. To me it just seems like they would add good selling points if they were included (TM on Express, Airplay on Extreme).

I was pretty much set on the express until I saw the old refurbished extreme for $99 on the apple store. For certain reasons, I'm not considering anything else besides these two.

Could anyone give insight on the signal speed/range between the two?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Thanks Priit. I think It's odd that they split up features into such similar products, although I understand the intended functions are somewhat different. To me it just seems like they would add good selling points if they were included (TM on Express, Airplay on Extreme).

I was pretty much set on the express until I saw the old refurbished extreme for $99 on the apple store. For certain reasons, I'm not considering anything else besides these two.

Could anyone give insight on the signal speed/range between the two?

Comparable speed & range.

Main differences:
-Extreme does allow disks, but that one is not supported for Time Machine backups (only the most recent 802.11ac model is).
-Extreme has Gigabit Ethernet & a 3-port LAN hub. Express has 100MB Ethernet and only a single LAN port
-Express supports AirPlay audio, Extreme does not.
-That model Extreme has external power supply, Express is internal (could be important in terms of cable management).

 

[potatis]

If you want the missing features of either later on, you could buy a separate used old-style Airport Express to complement the Extreme, or a hard drive with Ethernet port to plug in the new-style Airport Express, like the Macally Wifihdd. Either option would probably cost an $50 more (than a regular USB hard drive in the second case).