Apple Announces New Airport Base Station and Time Capsule with Faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi

At today's Worldwide Developers Conference Keynote, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller announced a new AirPort Base Station and new AirPort Time Capsules, featuring sleek new designs and improved internals.

capsule
All of the devices feature 802.11ac WiFi, which allows for 40 percent faster data transmissions at the same distance as the previous models. They also feature beamforming, which is electronically steering antenna directions. All of the new products are available for purchase from the Apple Online Store today.

The AirPort Extreme Base Station is priced at $199.

The Time Capsules come in 2TB and 3TB variations and are priced at $299 and $399, respectively.

Apple has released new firmware updates for both the Base Station and the Time Capsule.

This update is for AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations with 802.11ac. It resolves a rare issue that may cause the hard drive in AirPort Time Capsule or a hard drive connected via USB to become unresponsive.

Apple has also released an update for the AirPort Utility App for Mac and iOS.

Use AirPort Utility to set up and manage your 802.11n and 802.11ac AirPort base stations, including AirPort Express, Extreme, and Time Capsule. AirPort Utility 6.3 allows you to configure and manage the new AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and includes enhanced remote management capabilities.

AirPort Utility for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

AirPort Utility for Mac can be downloaded from Apple's software update website.

Related Forum: Networking

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

musser Avatar
158 months ago
tedium

After a time, one simply gets fatigued with all the various sniping negativity. It's fine if you hold an opposing view or wish to lodge a constructive criticism. But, if you're here just to appear that you're clever in your oblique negativity, you're just taking up space and adding nothing to the discussion. Personally, I want Apple to succeed. I have a lot invested in that outcome (my work, not stock). I, too, want Apple to make the best decisions. My approach is to think of myself as a hired contributor with a voice who might hold stock. Sure, offer suggestions. Take a stand on actions you think off-base. But, gosh, minimize the self-centered, whiny protestations which offer no useful advance.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
verniesgarden Avatar
158 months ago
I'm going to get the time capsule and paint it like a tardis.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
atari1356 Avatar
158 months ago
The old Airport Extreme looks too short next to my Ikea lamps. The new tall one will match better.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iScott428 Avatar
158 months ago
No longer cat-proof? Wouldn't be very happy hearing my backup go thump in the night.

Get a dog, dog will eat cat, problem solved. ;)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
leman Avatar
158 months ago
No USB3? What the ***? :mad:
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anonymous Freak Avatar
158 months ago
I mean adsl modem capabilities.

The simple answers there are:

There are different DSL protocols, not every provider uses the same ones. That would add complexity and variation.

Not everyone uses DSL. Many use Cable, or FiOS, or other technologies that just give them a Ethernet port to plug in to. Again, adding complexity and variation.

To cover the US alone, if they were to go that route, they'd need to offer at least five different base stations (they'd still have to offer at least one "basic" model, because nobody would want to pay the extra $40+ to add the modem.)

Back when the original "UFO" AirPort base station came out, it made sense to include a dial-up modem. A majority of people were still on dial-up, and dial-up modems were cheap ($10 or less at Apple's bulk cost.) But for a company that makes very few individual models, having DSL/Cable/FiOS modems built in just doesn't make sense. Even Linksys stopped doing that a few years ago.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)