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Alexrat1996

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 29, 2015
4,352
763
Lehigh valley PA
I’m looking to upgrade my AirPort Extreme it worked very well.

Not sure if I should buy another new AirPort Extreme router or preorder the tplink AC4000 ?
 
Why?

Gen6 (802.11ax) is just starting to hit the markets and is potentially a big jump in performance over AC. Prices will initially be high, but competition by this time next year should bring prices closer to current AC prices.

If AP Extreme is meeting your needs, you might want to hold off for a year or so.
 
Why?

Gen6 (802.11ax) is just starting to hit the markets and is potentially a big jump in performance over AC. Prices will initially be high, but competition by this time next year should bring prices closer to current AC prices.

If AP Extreme is meeting your needs, you might want to hold off for a year or so.

Because I’m moving places and will wireless ax be on sale ?
 
AX routers are already being sold. They seem to be priced in the $300-450 range, quite a bit more than AC routers. New tech is often much higher priced until competition and volumes bring prices down. The standard was due for final approval early this year, so initial routers may be based on draft specs...and may have slight changes in FW updates.

Still unclear on reasons, moving but not taking the router with you?

I say wait because prices are likely to drop in a year or so when everyone jumps in. Buying an AC router right now is a bit like buying an N router when AC started coming out. an N router today is generally insufficient for most of us.

But, if you absolutely need a router for now, either pay the premium for AX, or maybe go with a lower priced AC that you may be willing to dump in a year or two.

With 5G Fixed Wireless also due to come in the next year or two with potentially higher speeds, AX might be more useful then. No doubt cable companies will start offering faster speeds when the competition heats up, so the next few years are probably going to faster internet speeds from several sources. But, don't get caught in the speed trap, no matter how fast your WiFi, the slowest link in the chain (ISP typically) will be the limiting factor. The only thing really fast WiFi does on slower ISP speeds is make file transfers between computers on your own network faster.
 
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