Teardown of Apple's new AirPort Extreme finds enough empty space for a hard drive
Apple's new tower-shaped AirPort Extreme is simple to take apart, and utilizes the same design layout as the company's new Time Capsule, including space for a 3.5-inch hard drive.
Upon removing the top cover of the new AirPort Extreme, iFixit found in its teardown that the device includes 3.5 inches of empty space. The solutions provider was able to fit a standard-sized 3.50inch SATA hard drive inside the device without issue.
However, there are no connectors included with the AirPort Extreme that would allow users to add a hard drive to the inside of the router. Apple is presumably just using the same design for its new AirPort Extreme as it is with the updated Time Capsule, which comes with internal storage options of two and three terabytes of data.
The repairability of the new AirPort Extreme was praised, with the device being given a score of 8 out of 10 by iFixit. Along with the Apple TV and Mac mini, it is said to be one of the most repairable Apple devices in recent history.
Specifically, the new 802.11ac-capable router is held together by a minimal amount of glue and standard Torx screws. That will make getting inside the AirPort Extreme easier for enthusiasts and experts.
The AirPort Extreme includes six antenna cables that run up the center device and attach to a plate at the top, which functions as the antenna. The new 802.11ac Wi-Fi promises speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps, which is triple the rate of the previous 802.11n models.
In another design change, the updated AirPort Extreme has moved the power supply ? a Delta Electronics 12V 5A unit ? to the inside of the device. That allows for the device's cable to eschew a bulky "power brick."
iFixit also found the following chips included on the AirPort Extreme logic board:
Upon removing the top cover of the new AirPort Extreme, iFixit found in its teardown that the device includes 3.5 inches of empty space. The solutions provider was able to fit a standard-sized 3.50inch SATA hard drive inside the device without issue.
However, there are no connectors included with the AirPort Extreme that would allow users to add a hard drive to the inside of the router. Apple is presumably just using the same design for its new AirPort Extreme as it is with the updated Time Capsule, which comes with internal storage options of two and three terabytes of data.
The repairability of the new AirPort Extreme was praised, with the device being given a score of 8 out of 10 by iFixit. Along with the Apple TV and Mac mini, it is said to be one of the most repairable Apple devices in recent history.
Specifically, the new 802.11ac-capable router is held together by a minimal amount of glue and standard Torx screws. That will make getting inside the AirPort Extreme easier for enthusiasts and experts.
The AirPort Extreme includes six antenna cables that run up the center device and attach to a plate at the top, which functions as the antenna. The new 802.11ac Wi-Fi promises speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps, which is triple the rate of the previous 802.11n models.
In another design change, the updated AirPort Extreme has moved the power supply ? a Delta Electronics 12V 5A unit ? to the inside of the device. That allows for the device's cable to eschew a bulky "power brick."
iFixit also found the following chips included on the AirPort Extreme logic board:
- Broadcom BCM53019 router SOC with gigabit switch
- Broadcom BCM4360KLMG
- Hynix H5TC4G63AFR 512 MB synchronous DRAM
- Micron 25Q256A 32 MB serial flash
- Skyworks 5003L1 WLAN power amplifier
- Skyworks 2623L high power WLAN power amplifier
- TDK TLA-7T201HF
Comments
Well duh ...
This baby is going to capable of being a local data centre when SSD priced fall.
edit/ I am taking 'Hard Drive' not to mean conventional spinners here which would be silly.
I see this as space for a load of SSD in the future. What's the term ...'future proofing'?
"Add your own HDD" kits available on eBay in 3... 2... 1....
Oh, so they ONLY support 802.11ac? No, they are compatible with all 802.11 devices but only the 2013 MBA takes advantage of the higher speed. Poor choice of wording, AI.
I wonder...
If you had an 802.11ac capable machine and one of these routers modified with an SSD...
What kind of read/write speeds would the end user effectively see to the SSD?
Could this be faster than a conventional local HDD?
That's amazing! I think during the keynote it was explained that they could fit a hard drive in there...
Was I the only one there who listened?
Well I'd say yes ...
I replaced a 7200 rpm HDD with a SDD in my MBPro and it was like a tortoise v a hair. Not to mention Apple have a new breed of SSDs in the new MacBook Air that is even faster.
That space can probably take multiple SSDs if not in this release but future ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brutus009
I wonder...
If you had an 802.11ac capable machine and one of these routers modified with an SSD...
What kind of read/write speeds would the end user effectively see to the SSD?
Could this be faster than a conventional local HDD?
Probably not and the reason why is likely to be the same reason that there's no USB 3.0 support - the Airport Extreme's CPU/memory simply can't handle high disk throughput. It's a common problem on a lot of NAS drives.
I see this as space for a load of SSD in the future. What's the term ...'future proofing'?
Um, no. This is nothing more than Apple not bothering to create a case specific to the Extreme. They are simply using the Time Capsule case.Just as I stated in the previous threads, the Time Capsule has a 3.5" hard drive mounted vertically on the diagonal (it was the only way it was going to fit). However, this space is not used for the Extreme. And if the antenna are all in the plate at the top, that means that there is no excuse for the Extreme to be as big as it is. The space wasn't used to create some fancy 3D antenna layout. Apple simply couldn't be bothered to create a more efficient case design for the Extreme. Sad.
Probably not and the reason why is likely to be the same reason that there's no USB 3.0 support - the Airport Extreme's CPU/memory simply can't handle high disk throughput. It's a common problem on a lot of NAS drives.
Yep. Even via gigabit Ethernet the current Extremes can't full use of even a USB 2 drive. Unless Apple gave the new ones much faster processors, USB 3 and/or SSD would be pointless.Nice comments about adding a hard drive to a device without a SATA controller or port. You guys must not have had your coffee yet.
One has to wonder though...if the Extreme has the same power supply as the Time Capsule (ie, it can power a drive), and if you can tap into it, could you use a USB-to-SATA adapter kit to hack together an internal drive connection?Hence I wrote ... "I see this as space for a load of SSD in the future. What's the term ...'future proofing'?"
Sorry I'll stop my involvement with the guessing game here, I defer to your inside knowledge at Apple.
The vertical space is hardly wasted even in the airport. There is plenty of stuff crammed in on the sides of the drive bay.
As for not having different cases, why bother? Seems like it would be throwing away money designing and manufacturing two cases. 99.9% of apples customers won't care if there is a small amount of wasted space, and while some love and some hate the new vertical design, most simply don't care. It is, after all, a wifi base station; nobody is going to sit there and admire it for its beauty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vadania
Upon removing the top cover of the new AirPort Extreme, iFixit found in its teardown that the device includes 3.5 inches of empty space. The solutions provider was able to fit a standard-sized 3.50inch SATA hard drive inside the device without issue.
That's amazing! I think during the keynote it was explained that they could fit a hard drive in there...
Was I the only one there who listened?
No, that's the first thing I thought of as well. You just beat me to it!