What is the AirPort Extreme?

The AirPort Extreme is a residential gateway combining the functions of a router, network switch, wireless access point and NAS as well as varied other functions, and one of Apple’s former AirPort products. The latest model, the 6th generation, supports 802.11ac networking in addition to older standards.

What happened to the AirPort Extreme base station?

At that time the gateway part of this lineup was known as the AirPort Extreme Base Station. With the addition of the even faster Draft-N standards in early 2009 this naming was dropped, and from then on only the gateway has been known as the AirPort Extreme. Several minor upgrades followed, mostly to change antenna and power in the Wi-Fi.

When did the AirPort Extreme come out with Ethernet?

The second generation of the Extreme was released in 2007, and this brought Gigabit Ethernet to the device. The third and fourth generations of the AirPort Extreme both came out in 2009, and the fifth generation came out in 2011.

What is the sixth generation of the AirPort Extreme?

The routers were called AirPorts, with the last iteration of them being the sixth generation AirPort Extreme. Apple’s sixth-generation AirPort Extreme was released in 2013, but the AirPort Extreme it and its AirPort brethren were officially discontinued in 2018.

When did the AirPort Extreme get an upgrade?

In 2013, a major upgrade added 802.11ac support and more internal antennas. The AirPort Extreme has gone through three distinct physical forms. The earliest models were packaged similar to the original AirPort Base Station, in a round housing known as the “flying saucer”.

What is the difference between the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule?

The AirPort Time Capsule got the same redesign as the sixth-generation AirPort Extreme in 2013. This new tower model was rectangular and much larger than previous generations. The AirPort Express, meanwhile, took on the shape of early Apple TV models in 2012.