The 802.11 a/b/g/n protocols used for WiFi are IEEE standards and ratified by international agreements. So
theoretically there should be little difference between various brands. However, there are differences in how the standards are implemented by the different manufacturers. For example Netgear and Linksys devices typically have two obvious external antennae while Apple
Airport devices have smooth exteriors with no visible antennae. From what you have learned from the Apple tech there is apparently some difference in the protocols used for extending a network and this may be outside the purview of the standard. Depending on the age of your Netgear router (when it was designed and built not necessarily when you bought it) there may be differences in the protocols used. A preliminary standard for 802.11n was issued in 2007 and many manufacturers built devices to their interpretation of what the final standard would be. The final 802.11n standard was not adopted until 2009 and supposedly devices designed and built since then conform to this final standard. While devices built under the the proposed standard are generally compatible, the devil is in the details and more than a few compatibility issues arose during the interim period.
This is a long winded way of saying no one, least of all me, could guarantee your network would perform better using all Apple components. I have always used Apple in my networks because:
- I was and I am an Apple stockholder and Apple stock has been very good to me financially so I support their products
- I got started using Airport and have come to know it well
- I have always had good results with Airport networks
- On the theory that if it aint broke, don't fix it I have never had reason to try another vendor's product
