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

[tentales]

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

They forgot to insert "consumer-level" wireless router manufacturers.
None of these are Pro level. I love my Airport Express routers at home to power my Apple devices network, but would never buy them for a business.

Cisco, Aruba, Ubiquiti, Ruckus, that's enterprise / carrier grade stuff.
Also, what about Actiontec, Arris, Motorola, Alcatel, Avaya and a dozen more wireless manufacturers.
Just because you can't buy it a BestBuy, doesn't mean that better quality routers don't exist.

Linksys, Belkin, etc bottom of the pile stuff was easily exceeded by Apple's WiFi efforts, but they failed to play nice in anything other than Apple households.

Not surprised Apple is killing off this line. It's more stale than a 2014 Mac Mini.

 

[rmatosinhos]

Time Capsule is a great product, nothing compared to the Apple Tv... I don't get it why they will cancel it! :|

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

 

[Quu]

I always intended to buy an Airport Capsule but the price always turned me off. I preferred to spend my money on a NAS that could do it as a side job to storing my usual files etc - Just better value proposition.

At the moment I wanted to get an ac router, I was finally ready to get a Time Capsule but Apple never sold one at that time, only 802.11n. - I feel like Apple is always late on things and I end up buying a competitors product as a result.

 

[newyorkone]

Tim Cook should resign.

Yes, and not only is he not a visionary, but he's completely lost touch with reality.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

Who's to say that Apple doesn't have updated Airports ready to go. After all, the team remained for several years since the last updates. They must have been working on something.

Another article earlier said engineers were being put elsewhere.

Also with apple we seem to know of leaks of them hiring even new janitors. If improvements planned I'd see this coming with new blood. We aren't getting leaks of John/Jane Doe, current/former member of Cisco IOS development team being poached by apple. Which if apple was looking to improve...this would be the route I'd take.

Its great gear...even I who to save e-stalking can gripe about a few things apple wise will say all in all out the box this stuff actually "just works" and works well. Its only limitations are interface wise imo. Not the most robust router feature wise out there, even for consumer, a fair statement to make. Which I can live with and not a ding...I have ample chances to play with more robust routers and swtiches. Sometimes its nice to come home and go...meh, I don't need that.

But in terms of improvement if it were to happen, router/swtich iOS (IOS has been a term long before its association with apple iOS on mobile) is possibly the only area left to innovate on really.

 

[ninethirty]

Who cares? OnHub is WAY better. I haven't looked back since switching.

 

[truthertech]

Just keep saying that over and over and it will be true! /s That's what everyone also said about the now defunct Apple display.

Thanks for making the point. Apple hasn't said they won't be producing a different display, just that they are currently selling LG display. Potentially just temporary while they. At least in the case of the displays there was reason for pessimism since Apple announced they were going to stop producing current displays. In the case of routers, Apple has made no such announcement. I'll wager that Apple is going to be releasing a new wi fi product as it makes little sense to abandon an important part of ecosystem, that is such a headache to so many consumers, is such a security issue and since wireless is a major focus for Apple. All of that is very different than displays. On top of all that, Apple has been investing heavily in Siri and HomeKit so that would be a natural next gen integration with router and wi fi.

Stay tuned, Chicken Littles.

 

[ujE3vyVG8xh?tz]

I've considered buying my own modem many times. My worry is Comcast will use it as a scape-goat for any service/performance issues...

I had been a customer of Comcast for over 10 years. During this time, I always had my own modem and an Airport Extreme of some kind. I purchased 3 modems over that time, but always had solid service from them. I don't think you need to worry.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

The Computers and peripherals take up too many company resources for an ever decreasing slice of the pie chart. The Macs days are numbered. We are a "post PC world" as they apple propaganda says, a macintosh is a PC in that description. Enjoy MacOS while you can, because in a decade you will be all back on windows.

 

[sundragon]

I bought my first Time Capsule in 2008 and I retired it in 2013 for a newer Time Capsule and Air Port Extreme. Every router I have had otherwise was POS, these almost never needed to be restarted and I appreciate the ease of use and the backups that saved me so much effort. RIP

 

[JDHiro]

... Now I won't buy either; we will see about the Mac now, too.

Really? You're not going to buy a Mac because you can't have a matching router?

 

[noisycats]

Prediction, though it may have already been stated in the other 17 pages...new device that incorporates aTV with DVR, Apple Music, HomeKit, Echo competitor, and router all in one. $699

 

[Cycling Asia]

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

Not quite that simple. For the airport it is more like:

p1: This product is too good, remove features until the numbers drop.
p2: The airport is plug and play, there isn't anything to remove.
p1: *thinks* Ok, f*ck it, just remove the damn product and then replace it with some new watch bands.
p2: *thinks* I hate my life.

 

[MasterRyu2011]

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.

Anything that your ISP provides you is gonna be crap lol.

 

[danielsutton]

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

I wonder what Apple intends to do here. Sometimes, the company abandons a successful product, only to go on to design something better, and then release it in a different form. I come from the PC world originally, where companies produced and released detailed roadmaps of their products and what direction they are going in, which I liked, because it was more predictable, and I knew what to expect. Apples way of doing things is not like most companies, but I do appreciate the attention that they pay to detail and the customer experience, rather than simply the set of features. I am hoping that Apple will continue to build routers, and will do so in a way that is both friendly to consumers, as well as to large enterprises.

 

[Soccertess]

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.

I honestly think this team isn't disbanded, but reallocated. MY PREDICTIOn is that they are combining the Airport team with a wireless charging team, or allocating them out because they are doing something big with wireless charing that's just around the corner.

That or either Tim completely doesn't care about his customers and decided to give up on the computer industry. Maybe Tim has decided to focus Apple's efforts on Dongles and watch bands while John Ivys perfects the polished alumni bar, which will be called the ibar (to be sold at 5k, with a 100k gold version.)

This second scenario is quite plausible!

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Yeah, I see what you said about WiFi routers and your sarcasm tag in post #216.

But I asked about your claim in post #384 about there being plenty of decent 5K displays on the market at the LG price point, outside of the more expensive Dell, and, that the LG display being nothing special (when in fact it is).

What 5K monitors were you referring to?

I believe I mentioned Dell in that last post to you. But you are taking the entirety of my comments way too seriously. Take a beat guy. You act like the LG is your baby and I just said it was hideous. It's fine. It not designed like an Apple product though, sorry. If you want to believe the LG is special have at it and enjoy to your heart's content. Now go find someone else to pester. Thanks.

 

[vixster1901]

Not surprised Apple is killing off this line. It's more stale than a 2014 Mac Mini.

What's not stale? oh, I forgot , the ear buds.. OH JOY!

 

[ryanflucas]

Someone in Apple market forecasting/predictions likely predicted that one of the other 4 besides Apple in the top 5 will overtake their marketshare and it's not worth the effort. They may even partner with one of them as the network router company of choice.

 

[ateslik]

so much for my airport rose gold dreams.

 

[JDW]

Tim Cook should resign.

Interestingly, this story originally broke not too long after Cook made his telephone call to Trump. Trump may have said, "start making backdoors in your wireless routers now, because it will be an executive order next year." Cook then probably replied, "I will either resign like David the Super Dooper Expert wants me to, OR I will just nix the entire Airport router line." We now see the end result!

 

[ra.skill]

Surely they won't abandon Time Capsule!!!!??? It's possibly the best home based backup system on the market... don't tell me it's going to iCloud and I have to pay $50 a week for the service.

 

[citysnaps]

I believe I mentioned Dell in that last post to you. But you are taking the entirety of my comments way too seriously. Take a beat guy. You act like the LG is your baby and I just said it was hideous. It's fine. It not designed like an Apple product though, sorry. If you want to believe the LG is special have at it and enjoy to your heart's content. Now go find someone else to pester. Thanks.

Too seriously? No. I'm trying to find out about these other 5K monitors you talk about.

You claimed "There are PLENTY of decent 4 and 5K monitors on the market at those price points."

And wanting to know about them, in post #402 I asked "Besides the Dell at $1.6K - $1.8K (not at the LG's price point), what other 5K 27" monitors are there at the LG's price point?"

It's an honest question. Which you continue to obfuscate with continual digs at me; first playing it as sarcasm, then me having a bad day, I need to take a beat, and finally the LG being my baby (it's not).

If there are no other 5K monitors, why not just own what you said as not being true, rather than trying to shift it on me with dig after dig?

 

[truthertech]

Who's to say that Apple doesn't have updated Airports ready to go. After all, the team remained for several years since the last updates. They must have been working on something.

Indeed, that's what everyone is missing. Kind of a knee jerk reaction to sensationalist headline from Marc Gurman's report. If his source is accurate, may simply have been reassigning folks because they are switching to new wireless device. What are odds Apple would simply walk away from such a key part of its ecosystem and be at mercy of the mess of 3rd party devices prone to huge security issues, instead of coming out with new device that included Siri and HomeKit, with Apple's legendary security and ease of use?

I could also see Apple buying Sonos or partnering with them to come out with wifi mesh speakers that had beam forming microphones to enable Siri/Homekit. Undoubtedly the number one issue they have been trying to solve is that Siri is personal assistant so how to have Siri work in multiple user environment. That would blow away competition, especially if Vocal IQ is ready to roll, they would then be miles ahead.

 

[Val-kyrie]

Really? You're not going to buy a Mac because you can't have a matching router?

No, not because of the router, but because of all of the other criticisms I have mentioned in other threads. The demise of the router is just another part of Apple's tapestry coming unwoven.