Review: Speedy new AirPort Time Capsule is a good buy
Apple is ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting the IEEE 802.11ac wireless networking standard. While 802.11ac routers are not new, Apple’s latest AirPort Time Capsule is the first to include an integrated hard drive. Apple is also one of the first manufacturers to include an 802.11ac client adapter as standard equipment in its computer lineup.
Performance
When I used AccessAgility’s WiFiPerf benchmarking tool to measure the 802.11ac Time Capsule, with a 2013 MacBook Air as the client, I measured a very respectable TCP throughput rate of 451.9 mbps at close range (with the router and client in the same room, separated by about nine feet). That’s more than twice as fast as the older 802.11n Time Capsule’s 218.7 mbps (operating a network on the 5GHz frequency band).
What’s more, the 802.11ac Time Capsule delivered TCP throughput in excess of 100 mbps in two other rooms inside my house where the 5GHz 802.11n Time Capsule wasn’t able to maintain any connection to the MacBook Air.
The new MacBook Air achieved significantly higher throughput when connected to the 802.11ac Time Capsule than it did the older 802.11n Time Capsule. (Click to expand chart.)
Unfortunately, something is crimping Apple’s 802.11ac network performance. As I reported in this earlier story, Apple’s gear is radically slower when tasked with transferring real-world files over the network (WiFiPerf is a synthetic benchmark for measuring TCP throughput).
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