AirPort Routers Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction as Apple Halts Further Development

[MacRumors]

Apple ranks highest in customer satisfaction among wireless router manufacturers, according to a new study released by J.D. Power today.

The accolade comes just nine days after a report said Apple has ceased development of its AirPort routers and reassigned engineers working on the products to other teams. Apple continues to sell the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule, last released in 2013, but future updates appear unlikely.

Apple beat out all other wireless router vendors with a score of 876, based on a 1,000-point scale, followed by ASUS at 860, D-Link at 856, and TP-Link at 854. Apple was the only company to receive a 5-star Power Circle consumer rating, which places it "among the best" according to J.D. Power.

The report, based on responses from 3,037 consumers, measured overall satisfaction across 10 factors, listed in order of importance: Wi-Fi range; reliability; speed of upload/download; restore connection easily; security capabilities; price; ease of use; variety of features; intuitive user interface; and customer service.

Article Link: AirPort Routers Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction as Apple Halts Further Development

 

[HenryFSU]

This is sad, I really do like my Time Capsule.

 

[yaxomoxay]

"Product is too good. Remove it from the lineup."

 

[Mascots]

Well, yeah.

It's just too good.

 

[strukt]

I guess Apple is moving to the cloud.

 

[scottlitch]

This makes me sad. I'm guessing they will force us to use iCloud Storage to back up our files in the future.

 

[DavidTheExpert]

Tim Cook should resign.

 

[imran5720]

Why Apple Why, why are you doing this to us, First you made us addicted to amazing products and now you stopped refreshing them. (Mac Pro, Imac , and now this )

 

[javco]

Agree Best routers in the market. Sad news. I own a 5 year AirPort Extreme it beats the newest D-Link my ISP provided me.

 

[Insleep]

Of course this happens right as Apple ceases development...

 

[yaxomoxay]

This makes me sad. I'm guessing they will force us to use iCloud Storage to back up our files in the future.

Which would be 100% stupid.

 

[tubeexperience]

That's hard to believe.

You can't even configure it from a Windows PC which makes up 90% of PCs.

AirPort Utility for Windows which hasn't been updated for years and is incompatible with the more recent models.

 

[recoil80]

I like my Airport Extreme, I had the 802.11n version and then bought the 802.11ac and I have great wireless performance, way better than the average modems with wi-fi the internet providers gave me.

I understand wireless connectivity is not their business, maybe they can partner with a vendor like Cisco and recommend products like they are doing with LG and their display.

 

[BenTrovato]

This would be a nice one last thing at the next event as they unveil a new network device. But alas, this would take away from their recurring cloud payment plans that I will never use.

 

[AngerDanger]

Leave 'em wanting more! Way to go, Apple!

Wait, what the hell?

 

[recoil80]

Which would be 100% stupid.

But really profitable.
It is better to sell a subscription than a product that can last for 10 years. And once you put your data on iCloud is even more convenient to have an Apple device, so you stick with their ecosystem.
Sad move for customer, great move for the company

 

[chrismail627]

Jony probably couldn't find a way to make it thinner, so he just abandoned the project altogether. Also its lack emoji support really sealed the deal I'm sure.

 

[Lone Deranger]

But it doesn't run iOS, and is too big to be worn with a watchband so it isn't on Tim Cook's radar.

 

[BornAgainMac]

It must have been a long time since those have seen an update. Look how thick those things are.

 

[yaxomoxay]

But really profitable.
It is better to sell a subscription than a product that can last for 10 years. And once you put your data on iCloud is even more convenient to have an Apple device, so you stick with their ecosystem.
Sad move for customer, great move for the company

It will backfire in the long run especially as other systems will improve faster than Apple's. iCloud and TimeCapsule serve two different needs.

 

[charlieroberts]

WHY DO YOU DO THIS THO US!

 

[Corrado]

While my Airport routers have been the best consumer routers, I recently added a Ubiquiti AP (with plans to phase the Airports out completely) to my network because my Airports couldn't handle the number of wireless clients I have. Speeds would fall on their face or clients would get disconnected. Granted, my situation is somewhat rare for a home user, but I see it becoming more commonplace with IoT and "smart home" devices becoming more prevalent.

 

[insomniac86]

That's hard to believe.

You can't even configure it from a Windows PC which makes up 90% of PCs.

Yes you can. There is AirPort Utility for Windows.

EDIT: As pointed out the AirPort Time Capsule 802.11ac & AirPort Extreme 802.11ac models can't be configured by the Windows Utility.

 

[DaveOP]

Interesting. I have found my Netgear Nighthawk performs much better than my Time Capsule. The problem with this survey is that it encompasses the $49 special that you can buy at Wal-Mart, which drags the scores down for others I am sure. The Nighthawk was as expensive as an Airport Extreme, but the range is much better and has not needed a reboot in almost a year now.

 

[Exile714]

Or maybe they're combining a mesh network with Siri to become a competitor to Amazon's Alexa and Google's Home?

When will Apple fans stop "thinking inside the box" of existing products and start giving Apple the benefit of the doubt? Because even when they make great products, people find no end to their complaints.