Airport Extreme, 802.11n Enabler

Apple silently introduced the 802.11n WiFi compliant hardware in their product line since the introduction of Intel Core 2 Duo processors. What was lacking was a means to exploit this new WiFi hardware but Apple has since officially announced the existence of the 802.11n hardware and is offering an Airport Extreme 802.11n Enabler software for a nominal fee of USD$1.99 at the Apple Online Store.

So, if you currently have a Mac with this capability, you can now enhance it by purchasing and downloading the Airport Extreme 802.11n Enabler to activate it. The Enabler is essentially software drivers that identify the 802.11n hardware and allows your Mac to utilise it.
These Macs have the 802.11n hardware built-in:

  • MacBook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo
  • MacBook with Intel Core 2 Duo
  • Mac Pro with AirPort Extreme option
  • iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo (except the 17-inch, 1.83GHz iMac)

No official comment has been made regarding the possibilty of upgrading the Airport Extreme hardware on older Intel Core Duo Macs to the 802.11n capable hardware.