I'd have said the same thing until my wifi stopped working and I got stuck between Apple (it's your modem!) and Comcast (it's your time capsule!).. for 4 days.
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Apple Announces New Airport Base Station and Time Capsule with Faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi
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I'd have said the same thing until my wifi stopped working and I got stuck between Apple (it's your modem!) and Comcast (it's your time capsule!).. for 4 days.
Yes, but this NEW router is much faster so you can't compare the old and new ones
Correct but the newer chipset might improve n-standard as well. With double the antenna and 3 dedicated for 5Ghz, it is possible you'll get more stable connections, even without the AC.
All that wasted space, but still only 3 GigE ports, only one USB port that too USB2! What's with the odd trash can type design?
USB 3 or TB is worthless if the internal chipset doesn't carry data faster. Apple has a known record of using crappy IO chipset in Extreme.
Meaning that even if they had USB 3 support, it doesn't mean the speed is going to max out at USB 3's speed, it'll be maxed at the chipset's limit. So, if the hard drive can do 100MBps, the Extreme with USB 3 can still limit it at less than 30-40MBps because that's all it can do.
Unless Apple picks a high quality and speedy chipset, it's pointless to have USB3.
It has double the number of antennas, it has to be tall to allow those antennas to work properly and to allow for beam forming. Many new routers are heading this way in terms of tall design.
No, you'll most likely see more stable connections, less drops and so on because of the newer and improved chipset. Only the 802.11ac devices will see a huge boost in speed.
Nah, I don't think so either because it's Apple we're talking about. They're not going to mess with the older parts. It's easier to focus on providing beam-forming on 802.11ac only.
There's a reason for the tall design, it's to give room for more antennas and to beam-form better. You'd want it to stand tall and provide better reception.
Very BAD Idea.
The radio "beam" is flat if you stand this thing up. Lay it down and the beam looks like a vertical wall and you'd have poor reception even if you were close.
If the beam where sperical then it would not matter. Height is required if the beam is to be made flat,
I am also wondering if I should wait getting a Apple TV because wireless card might get a update to support 802.11ac?
This will look great next to my Drobo 5N.
I'm VERY curious if you will be able to open the Airport Extreme and drop your own hard drive inside.
I'm VERY curious if you will be able to open the Airport Extreme and drop your own hard drive inside.
Buy as many current model (5th generation) airport extreme base stations as you can get your hands on right now! Do it quick before they are all gone and hard to find! this new model looks to be a tank for $20 more. What is Apple thinking? $20 for more plastic. Unbelievable. I say fire those involved in designing the new look of the Mac Pro and Airport Base stations. UGLY!
I had to kick my Apple TV down to 720P. At 1080P the stream cut off one too many times. I have a 50 Mbit Time Warner cable connection, and the Apple TV is hardwired, if you're wondering.
Based on personal experience I'd pick Apple tech support over the cable company. In these situations you have to troubleshoot yourself, figure out where the problem is and then fight "the tech support" with facts. Goodluck!
If you don't care for the looks. Then why care about Apple after all?
You can look at the alternatives. It's made of plastic, chaper yet works well
I also was hoping for AirPrint Server - but OSX will suffice those needs. I really wanted USB3 (no excuse not to have this really; unless the push is for WiFi_AC), and MirrorCast was important.
I'm on 3rd Gen Time Capsule and I too can sing nothing but praises for it; except that iP5 doesn't support configurable 802.11n (for either 2.4/5Ghz) so I had to let it go; nothing mentioned in keynote for iOS7 to support that. That and I'm a BB user so I can take advantage of that.
SGS4 users can take advantage of this new gen Time Capsule and Airport Extreme since it too supports 802.11AC.
I'm curious, does the new Time Capsule support SSD natively out of the box?
Really wish they combined the features of the airport express (iTunes airplay) alongside the airport extreme
Yes because Apple is ALL about how good it looks.
In some cases yes. Not to say I agree with it, but it's true.
Remember new iMac? What's with make it thinner and cut the internal dvd drive? Putting SD slot in the back? For what?
YES. Looks
In some cases yes. Not to say I agree with it, but it's true.
Remember new iMac? What's with make it thinner and cut the internal dvd drive? Putting SD slot in the back? For what?
YES. Looks
I don't think Apple has ever made a product only to look good. That's foolish. It has to be functional first. The iMac is a beautiful machine, the optical drive is on it's way out. SD slot is used by almost every consumer camera. Making a product look good is not the same as being "all about looks". That's silly.
Agreed. So apparently, we put away some disagreement.
But you also contradict yourself.
You said "Who cares about how it looks as long as it works"
I essentially said "Apple is also about looks, if you only want something to 'just works' alternatives are available and cheaper too.
That's what my original post was all about.
I was speaking in general terms, but as for Airport Extreme specifically, I don't care. After having a "nicer" smaller airport that doesn't have great range, I am willing to forego beauty for function.
I wouldn't want to use an ugly laptop every day though for example.
Yeap, updated to 3.0.0.4.270. I didn't go to the beta though.
I'd be sitting right in front of it, and my devices wouldn't be able to connect.
I'm gonna go for this 802.11ac Airport Extreme.
Been seriously contemplating the Time Capsule 2TB though.
Answers my main question; thanks. Guess I'll hold off until I need a new desktop.
I'm all for the tall design. I have 9 feet of vertical space everywhere in my house, mostly unused. Horizontal is where the limits really happen.
I had hoped for an aluminum design, with some allowance for non-metallic strips at the back, or all around, near the antennas, similar to 3G/4G iOS devices. Since APPLE insists on keeping the (heat generating/Time Capsule destroying) power supply inside the unit, for simplicity's sake no doubt, an aluminum design would have helped with better heat dissipation.
I'm sure Jony could have done a real nice job of integrating the polycarbonate strips near the antennas with the aluminum main body of the unit.
Average lifespan of the current generation TC: 18 mos. Let's see how the new ones hold up.
I'm also surprised they didn't update the Airport Express (yet) to the new 802.11ac chip. I have a dead g-version of the express, and don't wanne go buy an n-version, knowing the ac version is around the corner. Patience I guess.