Airport

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
Any idea on updates to Airport Extreme. I am thinking about finally upgrading to 802.11ac, but I worry that as soon as I do Apple will introduce an 802.11ac Wave 2 Airport. Anyone know any more about WiFi than I do who can offer some insights?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    IS there a “wave 2” to ac? What could have been added to the standard after it was standardized?

    I don’t imagine there’ll be a new one until 802.11ad, do you?
  • Reply 2 of 5
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    This is one of those things you hate to comment on because Apple will prove me wrong tomorrow.   In any event why would we see an update anytime soon?   Seriously I haven't even heard of any standards about to be approved.  
  • Reply 3 of 5
    Yes, there is a 802.11ac Wave 2 with speeds alleged to be up to 3.5 Gbps.

    And from what I've read, 802.11ad is not a successor to 802.11ac. It has a short range and doesn't really go through walls well. It apparently is more to replace cables -- including things like HDMI cables -- as opposed to networking.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    JohnPi said:
    Yes, there is a 802.11ac Wave 2 with speeds alleged to be up to 3.5 Gbps.
    It can't be getting much play in industry as I've seen nothing lately to indicate that a new standard is about to be trotted out. I literally get dozens of news letters every week related to chip industry developments and nothing has gained space in these releases. Further if a release was coming up, mainstream media would be all over the new tech. considering these points I'd have to say the tech isn't ready. Of course I could be missing things.



    And from what I've read, 802.11ad is not a successor to 802.11ac. It has a short range and doesn't really go through walls well. It apparently is more to replace cables -- including things like HDMI cables -- as opposed to networking.

    Ultimately to get higher speeds they will have to go to higher frequencies. By definition this means that things like walls will get in the way. Long run the only way to get significantly faster and at the same time remain reliable is to use wired services. Either copper or optical. While I fully expect WiFi to get faster over time, right now it isn't an extremely high priority as you need to be able to actually get to data of streams that are that fast.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    It has been approved for a while. It uses MU-MIMO. Linksys introduced a Wave 2 router in May:

    http://www.zdnet.com/article/802-11ac-wave-2-enabling-high-speed-wi-fi-for-the-next-generation-of-mobile-devices/

    I'm just wondering when and if Apple will do the same.
Sign In or Register to comment.