A speedy upgrade —

Apple brings 802.11ac Wi-Fi to AirPort networking hardware

Gigabit Wi-Fi spreads across the Apple product line.

Apple today refreshed its line of networking products with support for the 802.11ac Wi-Fi protocol that promises to make Gigabit per second bandwidth far more common.

802.11ac also made its way into the new MacBook Air, so it's no surprise to see 802.11ac in Apple's Wi-Fi base stations.

The update applies to the AirPort Extreme and the Time Capsule, the latter of which includes either 2TB or 3TB of storage. (Apple did not mention the cheaper AirPort Express during its keynote.) The improved bandwidth will benefit applications such as video streaming, file transfers, and wireless backups from Macs to the Time Capsule.

Apple said its 802.11ac transmissions will travel across three streams, which means bandwidth should be around 1.3Gbps. Apple promised a "beamforming antenna array." As we've explained in our coverage of 802.11ac, "beamforming creates a more focused signal that extends range and lessens the possibility of signals interfering with each other." The AirPort products will support simultaneous dual-band transmissions over the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, a feature already included in the 802.11n versions of the hardware.

802.11ac-based Wi-Fi chips capable of pushing more than a gigabit of data per second started coming out last year, and the latest ones have hit 1.7Gbps using four streams instead of three. Apple is not the first vendor to supply 802.11ac networking hardware, as we've already seen such equipment from companies including Buffalo, NetGear, Linksys, and D-Link.

Apple hasn't announced prices yet for the new AirPort hardware, but prices for the previous versions ranged from $99 to $499.

Channel Ars Technica