The Apple AirPort Time Capsule Review: 3TB Edition

Of all the electronic doodads I am surrounded by every day, the one I use the most, and the one that gets the least amount of appreciative forethought, is my AirPort Time Capsule — my silent sentinel.  My AirPort Time Capsule connects and manages all my iPhone and iPad and Apple TV and wireless printer WiFi connections to the internets, and it backs up all my most precious data.  When Apple released a new AirPort Time Capsule this week, I loved the new design, and I upped my commitment at the 3TB level and I have been delighted ever since.

If you’ve ever used an AirPort Time Capsule, you know how easy they are to set up and start working.  The new design is breathtaking.  Not only is the whole thing more elegant, it’s minuscule compared to the previous 2TB model as you can see below.  The 2TB edition is standing on its side so you can get a sense of how massive it is while sitting properly on a desk.

Apple were smart to “build up” using a smaller footprint — just as you do in a big city to pack more people, places, and pets into a vertical diorama — instead of one that is shallow, and spread out.  Desk space real estate is just as important as Tiffany building air rights.

The new 3TB looks like a white Apple TV that has been stretched taller.  Yes, I prefer a high-rise to ranch style.  I also much prefer the pinhole status light on the front of the 3TB compared to the “giant green eye” that would stare at me all day long with a blinding glow on the 2TB edition.

Here are the new killer wireless speed specs and, yes, you can taste the jump in speed:

With 802.11ac technology and a powerful beamforming antenna array, AirPort Time Capsule gives you up to 3x faster Wi-Fi and a stronger, clearer signal. And because it transmits at both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies at the same time, your wireless devices will automatically connect to the best available band for the fastest performance possible.

With the antennas at the top of the elevated design, AirPort Time Capsule now has a higher platform for dispersing the signal. We also increased the number of antennas. There are now six of them — three for the 2.4GHz band and three for the 5GHz band. Together with 802.11ac technology, they let you connect faster, farther, and with more power than ever before.

The first thing I did when the new AirPort Time Capsule arrived yesterday was plug it in and then check for updates. Sure enough, there was a firmware update waiting for me and the download the installation was simple and transparent.

Since my office is in the basement of the building, we sometimes have WiFi dead spots in our living room located on the upper floor on the opposite end of the building.

I decided to plug in my old 2TB AirPort Time Capsule in the living room and have it bind to the new 3TB version to create a strong, and now seamless, WiFi blanket network for the entire basement and upper floor.

Yes, my 2TB also needed a firmware update and installation, too.

Everything has been working like a charm for the past 24 hours since the new setup and installation.  The 3TB Time Machine did one full, new backup yesterday, and now it’s doing a second, comparative, full backup to make sure all the bytes are bitten in the right places.

Apple makes human machines. You plug in Apple stuff and it just starts working as if it has a life of its own. I appreciate the simplicity of design and the fact that the technical specs are always more advanced and vibrant compared to what breathed before. The new Apple AirPort Time Capsule is a great credit to a wonderful company that knows how to blend quantified emotion with qualitative performance.