Next-gen Time Capsule, Airport Extreme outed by Apple software update

By on Jun 15, 2011 at 8:18 AM
General June 15, 2011

References to a fourth-generation Time Capsule and a fifth-generation AirPort Extreme have been found within Apple’s latest AirPort Utility software update. Dwindling inventory and several reports over the past few weeks have suggested that Apple is preparing to refresh the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule lines, and this new software update all but confirms the rumors. Also notable, references to software update caching have been found within the AirPort Utility update. This new feature will allow the devices to automatically download OS X and iOS software updates and store them locally until the user applies them. This background downloading feature will drastically reduce the perceived amount of time it takes to update Apple software. Apple’s new Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme models are expected to become available shortly.

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  • http://www.QEDMethods.com Philip

    I find most of the Apple products work great if your workspace (home or office) is 100% Apple, if not then it’s kind of junky.  My TimeCapsule and the rest of my network don’t play nice together all the time.  I have both Windows and OSX devices on my network and I don’t want to be tied to one company or another.  This is a critical issue with Apple, they don’t play well with others.  I do like my Apple devices, I’ve even been called a “fanboy”, but like hell am I going to support any one multi-billion dollar company over another, they need to learn to bring products to the consumer, not bring consumers to their way of thinking.

    • SniperSniper

      I think you are wrong about this, I have an airport extreme which is the same as atime capsule without the internal drive.

      I have multiple macs, and multiple Pcs (xps, and window 7 machines), blackberries,iphones, ipad2s, blackberry playbook phones, wd, wireless brother printers, hp printers, and they are ALL able to communicate with each other on the network of the Airport Extreme. I am able to transfer files on the network and more.

      I have also used multiple Belkin G- and N routers, and Netgear routers who I all had problems with in the past with the wireless printers, and printer on the network.

      When I upgraded to the Airport Extreme, ALL networking problems went away, and the range was greatly improved. I now get 5 bars across the entire 3 floors of my house which was unheard of with other routers.

      I am also accessing hard drives on a USB hub connected to the Airport extreme from XP and Windows 7 machines. Play nicely? Yes.

    • Pelepus

      My way of thinking says your gayer than a creampuff in france.

      • http://www.QEDMethods.com Philip

        What are you 16?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GP2WYAHXS6CRUREISWBGPUSUGE Michael

    “This new feature will allow the devices to automatically download OS X
    and iOS software updates and store them locally until the user applies
    them”

    I’m not trying to be the local troll here, but oh well.

    Once again something that Android can do OTA, both in a stock fashion or in a Rooted fashion. I cannot count how many times i’ve downloaded a Nightly from Cyanogen OTA, just let it set on my SDcard for a while [until i could do a back up and flash the new update], and move along with out needing to set at a computer for ~45mins while it updates everything for me.

    Even if apple were to allow one to download the update, to the hard-drive of the computer and apply the update when the user wanted it would save alot of time. But that just make sense and apple isn’t about making sense it’s about making money, and lots of it.

    • Simon

      So what’s your point?  Don’t most companies exist to make money? And btw, this whole Android vs iOS thing is getting old…who really cares just use what you prefer, there plusses and minuses to all mobile operating systems…

    • https://me.yahoo.com/a/BtGh9K8jmvVZJoJ1h2lX19WO_fvinVo-#d982e fandroid

      Yes android does support OTA software downloads before iPhone did, but this is a different kind of concept in which the time capsule and airport extreme download software updates once and apply it to all of the iDevices that connect to the network thus saving bandwidth and reducing the update time. 

      for each Android device you have to download the update through the network which consumes you bandwidth cap faster.

    • Anonymous

      Michael, you seem to have ignored the whole OS X side of this.

      In my office, we have over 30 iMacs.  Currently, each iMac ndividually downloads OS updates directly from Apple, and sometimes these are hundreds of megabytes each.   Hundreds of megabytes multiplied by 30 machines is a LOT of Internet bandwidth.

      The ability to download the updates once and distribute locally over the LAN would be a great bandwidth saver.   There’s also no learning curve for the end-users which is a big plus.

      • Eric

        This would also be ideal for households that have multiple Macs and have Internet access that has bandwidth caps.

    • Anonymous

      you must be missing the whole point i havent seen any android branded routers to make this possible.  its not about OTA storing the updates on the device which im sure iOS will. its about having them at the router level stored so you not taking up space on your phone and at the same time when you ready to install it you dont have to download it.

    • Anonymous

      iOS5 does OTA update too. You seem to have missed the point of this article completely.

      • Banging betty crocker

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  • Anonymous

    I hope this comes out soon. I’m due to update my router and would like this as an option.

    • Eric

      Me too. I’ve been waiting for this upgrade for a while. I am still use the 100Mb version of the AirportExtreme.

  • Anonymous

    Woohoo dodged a bullet there I was going to get a new time capsule next week. My five year old nephew thought he was randy johnson last week and tossed into my brick fireplace wall. Looks like ill wait.

  • Anonymous

    I just bought a new Airport Extreme two months or so ago…

    *sigh*

  • http://www.facebook.com/gerainto Geraint Owen

    unless i have the fastest internet connection in the world, this background downloading has been around for some time.

  • Steve Hillshire

    More proprietary, non-standards following succle.  Idiots!

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