![]() ![]() I didn’t copy over the missing feature list from the Gen 5 review, but it remains the same. Tranmit power control (100, 50, 25, 10%) – one setting for both radios.Wireless Modes: Automatic, A/N and B/G, A and B/G.WEP and Personal / Enterprise WPA / WPA2 wireless security.Single port and port range forwarding w/ separate public / private ports.Log, wireless client and DHCP client viewing via AirPort Utility.USB printer and drive sharing (HFS, FAT32 formats only).IPv6 modes: Link-local only, Host, Tunnel, Router modes.Static and Dynamic IP, PPPoE WAN connections (no MTU adjust).I didn’t notice any new features and here’s the summary of Apple’s standard router feature set copied from the Gen 5 review. But it could leave some buyers in the lurch due to what it doesn’t support. If your routing needs are simple, the AExAC will probably do you just fine. I’ve stated in previous reviews that I’m neither a fan of Apple’s approach nor the utility itself, so I won’t belabor the point. I used Apple’s AirPort Uility for Windows (version 5.6.1) with a Win 7 SP1 system to configure the AExAC. ![]() Taking this approach will let Apple keep its options open to moving the AExAC up to an AC1900 class router like ASUS’ upcoming RT-AC68U. But since it also handles 3×3 802.11n, it’s perfectly suited to use as the 2.4 GHz radio. ![]() This 3×3 802.11ac transceiver has been the standard 5 GHz radio in all Broadcom-based AC1750 and AC1600 class routers to date. The AExAC is the first AC1750 router I’ve seen to use two BCM4360s. dual Cortex-A9 CPU 1 GHz, 256 KB L2 cache, Gigabit switch and PHYs and USB 3.0. The specs for the BCM4708 are similar, but a bit less beefy, i.e. So it’s a safe assumption that the 019 has at least that much. The BCM53017 and BCM53018 are described as dual Cortex-A9 CPU up to 1.1 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache (including ECC), 16-bit DDR2 interface, USB3, integrated switch, GPHYs and packet accelerator. But the numbering would indicate that it is a member of Broadcom’s StrataGX communication processor line. There is no specific information on the BCM53019 CPU to be found. Table 1: Router component summary and comparison – Unidentified external power amplifier (x3) ![]() – SiGe (Skyworks) SE2623L 2.4 GHz power amp (x3) Since the AExAC uses a second-generation Broadcom SoC, I’ve included the only other AC1750 router with a second-gen Broadcom CPU that I’ve tested so far- D-Link’s DIR-868L-for comparison.īroadcom BCM53019 (equivalent of BCM4708) It's a complete enough walloping that Apple even sells a pricey Linksys mesh networking system in its retail stores, alongside the few Airport Expresses and Extremes that it hasn’t yet cleared out of its warehouses.I’ve compiled the key components into the table below. The good news is that over the last few years a new wave of so-called mesh network systems, which deploy multiple units throughout your home for can’t-miss coverage, have caught up to Apple in design and far surpassed it in functionality and coverage. Like so many Apple products, they were imperfect and expensive, but they were also reliable, and they did about as much as most people needed them to. Time Capsule, especially, provided one-stop, no-muss backup for people who didn’t want to fiddle with external hard drives. Apple’s routers may not have had as many features or as much horsepower their peers, but you didn’t have to think twice about them and they looked nice, at a time when most other options caused near-constant hassles and mostly resembled alien robot spiders. Rather than mourn the end of an era, take the chance to give your home Wi-Fi a boost with one of these newer, better alternatives.Įven if the official end of the Airport era was a long time coming, it's still a shame. That’s so many iPhones ago! This week, the company made it official: It will no longer churn out Airport Express, Extreme, or Time Capsule routers. Close observers of Apple’s networking products-surely they exist-know that the company hasn’t updated its Airport line of Wi-Fi routers since 2013. ![]()
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