Is Apple really abandoning the AirPort Extreme?

[belvdr]

AD is already out. There are already routers that support wireless AD.

True but with it’s extremely limited range, I doubt it will replace 802.11ac. In my setup, I suspect I would need at least six 802.11ad devices to cover the area one 802.11ac device can cover.

@techwarrior is referring to 802.11ax which could potentially replace 802.11ac.

 

[thisismyusername]

AD is already out. There are already routers that support wireless AD.

Not AX though, which is what will replace AC. AD is only meant for very short ranges (30 feet or so) and, IMO, isn't nearly as useful.

 

[miscend]

Not AX though, which is what will replace AC. AD is only meant for very short ranges (30 feet or so) and, IMO, isn't nearly as useful.

Because of the massive bandwidth and low latency It’s useful for things like streaming 4K HDR content to nearby media devices. And playing lossless music wirelessly on high quality speakers. And also for wireless file transfers of large files between computers and also for NAC backups.

 

[belvdr]

Because of the massive bandwidth and low latency It’s useful for things like streaming 4K HDR content to nearby media devices. And playing lossless music wirelessly on high quality speakers. And also for wireless file transfers of large files between computers and also for NAC backups.

Unless you have 10Gb networking, I doubt you’d ever see a difference.

Further, quality of the speakers is irrelevant and I doubt audio requirements surpass video. 4K only needs approximately 30Mb and streaming services buffer the content, so latency becomes less of an issue. If latency is an issue, you’re always better with a wire.

I think there is a use case for AD but I don’t currently see it in the home.

 

[miscend]

Unless you have 10Gb networking, I doubt you’d ever see a difference.

Further, quality of the speakers is irrelevant and I doubt audio requirements surpass video. 4K only needs approximately 30Mb and streaming services buffer the content, so latency becomes less of an issue. If latency is an issue, you’re always better with a wire.

I think there is a use case for AD but I don’t currently see it in the home.

You rarely and will be even lucky to get a reliable 30Mb signal around around the house with Wireless AC routers especially with WLAN. AD let’s you transfers large files locally between devices in mere seconds.

Wireless AC is also not really reliable enough for gaming. Most serious gamers use gigabit LAN connections.

 

[belvdr]

You rarely and will be even lucky to get a reliable 30Mb signal around around the house with Wireless AC routers especially with WLAN. AD let’s you transfers large files locally between devices in mere seconds.

Wireless AC is also not really reliable enough for gaming. Most serious gamers use gigabit LAN connections.

You can tout AD all you want but I still don’t see it making inroads yet in the home. AC works great now, as long as you do some research and get quality gear, but that goes for anything, including switches and routers.

 

[thisismyusername]

Because of the massive bandwidth and low latency It’s useful for things like streaming 4K HDR content to nearby media devices. And playing lossless music wirelessly on high quality speakers. And also for wireless file transfers of large files between computers and also for NAC backups.

AD is just too limiting, due to its short range, and is practically dead already especially with AX coming soon.

 

[miscend]

AD is just too limiting, due to its short range, and is practically dead already especially with AX coming soon.

That is by design. AD is designed to be used at short range when you need massive data throughput wirelessly. AD is not a replacement for AC or AX.

[doublepost=1521685148][/doublepost]

You can tout AD all you want but I still don’t see it making inroads yet in the home. AC works great now, as long as you do some research and get quality gear, but that goes for anything, including switches and routers.

I'm not touting anything, I have nothing to gain other than just stating the facts, that AD is a welcome addition and has very functional uses that will benefit many people in areas where AC currently doesn't cut it. AD has a transfer rate approaching 7 Gbps, which is faster than many wired connections such as USB and in theory approaching SATA like rates. Quite frankly I think its ludicrous to suggest there isn't a great need for such a protocol, allowing data transfer at such high rates wirelessly between devices within close proximity to each other. You could for example transfer several terabytes worth of video files relatively quickly between your various devices very quickly. You could also stream completely uncompressed HDR video content locally.

And in any case AX is really about improving the range, coverage and quality of WIFI signals especially in scenarios where you have several devices connected to the same network. In practice it is not going to be much faster than AC's current theoretical max, but achieving speeds closer to the theoretical max transfer rate will be more achievable thanks to improved signalling. A student living in a small flat where the only connected devices to his/her network is a mobile phone and laptop wont get any advantage with AX over AC. But a busy office or convention centre with public WIFI definitely stand to gain alot more utility. The guys working at IEEE have already publicly stated that transfer speed was not their main priority with AX (as that is already achieved with AD).

 

[T-R-S]

I would;t worry about it the law in California is that companies must repair and maintain products for 5 years after they stop selling them...