One exciting facet of the newMacBook Airrelease is the prospect of majuscule Wi - Fi focal ratio and performance . That ’s because Apple ’s updated laptop computer sports built - in compatibility with the young draft networking measure , 802.11ac , an upgrade of the current 802.11n . That potation standard ( establish by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ) is also build into Apple ’s newly releasedAirPort Extreme Base Stationand AirPort Time Capsule difficult drive . The new MacBook Airs are among a handful of laptops with national 802.11ac Wi - Fi adaptor ship to date .
New radio spectrum
Here ’s what realise this new technology so fast : The 802.11ac banner uses the unlicensed 5GHz radio spectrum , which is substantially less crowded than the 2.4GHz spectrum , where twist ranging from cordless phones and babe monitor to microwave oven can stomp all over your web . What ’s more , the 5GHz spectrum offer many more useable television channel : 21 nonoverlapping channels in the United States versus only 11 in the 2.4GHz spectrum ( and only 3 of those 11 channel do n’t overlap ) .
The 802.11n standard uses line with 20MHz of bandwidth on the 2.4GHz frequency band and channels with 40MHz of bandwidth on the 5GHz band . In direct contrast , the 802.11ac standard use a duct with 80MHz of bandwidth .
Operating in the 5GHz spectrum is n’t the only constituent that makes the new 802.11ac standard so attractive . electronic internet based on this standard also carry more information , thanks to its more full-bodied encryption scheme . An 802.11n internet using a 20MHz - all-encompassing TV channel can conduct information at 75 mbps over a single spatial stream , 150 mbps over two spatial streams , or 225 mbps using three spacial streams . An 802.11n connection using a 40MHz - wide TV channel can repeat those numbers . But an 802.11ac web using an 80MHz - wide channel can deliver even higher throughput : 433 mbps over a individual spatial stream , 867 mbps over two , and a astonishing 1.3 gbps over three spacial streams .
Apple’s antenna arrays
To help networking efficiency , Apple ’s new AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule also use beamforming antenna arrays . Beamforming is an optional component of the 802.11ac criterion . old 802.11n mannikin disperse their signals in an omnidirectional way — in concentric ring , like the riffle that a pit tossed into a pool creates . A beamforming router actively exchanges information with its clients to specify the optimal path for signals to travel .
The AirPort Extreme features simultaneous three-fold - band 802.11ac Wi‑Fi , carry at both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies at the same clock time . Regardless of which ring your wireless devices use , they will mechanically connect to the quicker useable band .
The biggest drawback of the 5GHz spectrum is its shorter range ( the higher a signaling ’s oftenness , the shorter its stove ) . On the other hand , since the 802.11ac received packs so much data into its signal , the 802.11ac routers thatPCWorld has testedhave show themselves adequate to of delivering more than double as much throughput as 802.11n routers operating on the 2.4GHz frequency band .
While the IEEE is unbelievable to ratify the last 802.11ac criterion until early next year , router and Wi - Fi adaptor base on the conscription interlingual rendition of the banner have been on the market since last summer . So even if you prefer not to buy a new AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule , no problem . Just about every manufacturing business in the wireless networking market — include Asus , Belkin , Buffalo , D - Link , Netgear , Trendnet , and Western Digital — is ship an 802.11ac router , bridge deck , and/or USB transcriber . You just take to get a Mac - compatible model to work with your new MacBook Air .
