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

[expectdelay]

I personally don't care if they kill the "time capsule" aspect of their routers - tho i understand why people do - in favor of cloud storage. However to kill their router business is just stupid considering how good they are as this survey points out.

 

[mdatwood]

Makes sense. The Apple routers all 'just worked.' I remember setting up a mesh with a few apple routers and having a hard time until I found a site that said to just make the SSID the same and it just works. Simple.

Hopefully when it comes time to update again, the new Google routers will also just work (and be in stock!).

 

[Rossatron]

now that takes courage!

 

[shaunieo]

So I too feel the pain that Apple may be dumping the routers. But I moved on from them this year-I just got tired of buying new ones every two years. I loved the fact that they just work better period with apple products, but they seem to have a ife span of about two year and they the bandwidth slows and they need reboooting, etc. I went to the ASUS LINE.Setup was not as easy and placement either....But I do now have a big black and orange glowing borg cube in room!!!!!!!

 

[robotfist]

While Amazon and Google make a push further into the home, Apple steps out of it almost completely. They should be advancing their wireless presence there not withdrawing from it. This is so stupid. By killing the Airport, they are killing a key component in their ecosystem. The hub is THE LINK to home automation and entertainment. I really don't see what Apple's roadmap is anymore. I guess they just want to make phones and watches and that's it.

There is nothing exciting about this company anymore. Tim Cook is a supply chain management kind of CEO. He is simply running a lean and effecient business. He is not a tech visionary. He is not securing Apple's future. An expensive watch is not enough to keep Apple moving forward over the next 10 years.

 

[Mizouse]

I'm still using my 4th gen AirPort Extreme. Works great except for the wireless range is bad.

That said, I just ordered a new 6th gen AirPort Extreme. Hopefully it has stronger wifi antennas/output power

 

[Rob_2811]

While Amazon and Google make a push further into the home, Apple steps out of it almost completely. They should be advancing their wireless presence there not withdrawing from it. This is so stupid. By killing the Airport, they are killing a key component in their ecosystem. The hub is THE LINK to home automation and entertainment. I really don't see what Apple's roadmap is anymore. I guess they just want to make phones and watches and that's it.

There is nothing exciting about this company anymore. Tim Cook is a supply chain management kind of CEO. He is simply running a lean and effecient business. He is not a tech visionary. He is not securing Apple's future. An expensive watch is not enough to keep Apple moving forward over the next 10 years.

Great post this, sums up my thoughts completely.

Bit further on the homekit thing, I did some work recently for a company whose main focus is home automation devices and they were saying that Apples certification processes are prohibitive when it comes to homekit compatibility. Would explain its complete lack of any kind of traction.

 

[Steve.P.JobsFan]

Are you guys using AU 5.6.1 for Windows? It really works with no trouble or missing features on the new ac Aiport Extremes?

Yep.

 

[A-Sign]

While Amazon and Google make a push further into the home, Apple steps out of it almost completely. They should be advancing their wireless presence there not withdrawing from it. This is so stupid. By killing the Airport, they are killing a key component in their ecosystem. The hub is THE LINK to home automation and entertainment. I really don't see what Apple's roadmap is anymore. I guess they just want to make phones and watches and that's it.

There is nothing exciting about this company anymore. Tim Cook is a supply chain management kind of CEO. He is simply running a lean and effecient business. He is not a tech visionary. He is not securing Apple's future. An expensive watch is not enough to keep Apple moving forward over the next 10 years.

You are entirely right. Apple is becoming a hipster brand of a company. Pay much for a brand without any advantage or vision. It is like buying from a fashion label with absurd pricing.

 

[Le Big Mac]

I personally don't care if they kill the "time capsule" aspect of their routers - tho i understand why people do - in favor of cloud storage. However to kill their router business is just stupid considering how good they are as this survey points out.

It certainly would be understandable to drop the TC, but keep the extreme, and just ensure that the USB connected drives work with Time Machine.

 

[TsMkLg068426]

Time to fire Tim Cook he thinks driverless cars is what people want when it is going to be a overpriced crap where you have to buy a extended 3 year Apple Care and the cars lifespan or hardware lifespan is no more than 4-5 years and no more updates.


Wireless Routers are important no one is planning to get data plans to get internet for Mac hardware's.

 

[A-Sign]

Time to fire Tim Cook

Apple must be really a old-fashioned company on the inside if everything depends on one man at the top of the management named Tim Cook. If that is true then Apple is doomed - today companies are driven very differently than what it was at the 1980ies and this means not this top down to bottom hierarchy - but Apple seems to operate like a old fashioned company (at least this is my impression). This costs them any advantage they had in their technology business.

 

[aristobrat]

Time to fire Tim Cook he thinks driverless cars is what people want

But you don't know what Tim Cook thinks about driverless cars, do you? At best, you've read analysts speculation based on who Apple's hired, and whatever scraps of information they've been able to pull together.

 

[koruki]

Not a fan of Cook but don't forget Steve was the one who appointed him, he was the safest bet and yes the magic is running out. It's all good to ask for a new CEO but who? Can you name a single person able to fill such shoes, the reason Tim has the job is not cause he can fill those shoes, but at least look after them.

#WhoTFDoWeReplaceTimWith?

The board NEEDS to remove Tim Cook before it's too late.

Apple under Jobs was something else. Tim has been "succeeding" off his legacy, however as Job's magic is drying up, so is Apple.

The man is a liability with no vision. No charisma. No passion. Nothing.

#FireTimCook

 

[jscooper22]

Wow. That's surprising on two counts: 1. that something people seem to like would be retired with no replacement (well, actually that's not too surprising, look who we're talking about). 2. that so many people like them. Guess it's us, but they were nothing but trouble from the moment we got them: couldn't disable 5g, had to do some weird workaround to get them to connect via Radius to open directory, then had to reboot them at least weekly, often daily, just to keep them functioning. Finally stuck them in the storeroom and deployed a couple Sophos AP100s. Been hummin' along ever since.

 

[Rob_2811]

Not a fan of Cook but don't forget Steve was the one who appointed him, he was the safest bet and yes the magic is running out. It's all good to ask for a new CEO but who? Can you name a single person able to fill such shoes, the reason Tim has the job is not cause he can fill those shoes, but at least look after them.

#WhoTFDoWeReplaceTimWith?

Can he? I'm not sure he can over the longer term to be honest.

He has kept things going, so far, with the iPhone and the sales have been great but the other markets, Mac and iPad in particular, haven't fared very well at all. His first major new product, the watch, hasn't set the world alight, Apple Music got off to a very difficult start and it doesn't seem to be happening for them in some of the other areas they have tried to get into (TV/Car). They just do not seem to be able to get the deals done without Jobs.

Who is making the decisions at Apple anyway? To me the Car seemed like a bit of a strange area to try to get into and has got Jony Ive written all over it.

 

[MrGuder]

I've had several routers before buying my time capsule and none have been any good until Apples, not only are backups so easy but the router itself is the best I've ever had, the distance that it picks up with Apple products on wifi is amazing. I can literally go in my back porch and yard and it still connects to the time capsule. I love it and bought a 2nd one to keep as a back up if I ever need it.

 

[macs4nw]

WHY DO YOU DO THIS THO US!

Tim apparently cares more about money than his customers, that or he's completely lost and dazed, evidenced by a lot of questionable design directions lately. Either way, a sad way to slowly but surely run a once excellent company that used to care about 'the user experience' into the ground.

On topic, I'll buy another brand of router if I have to, before putting all my trust into iCloud.

 

[citysnaps]

I'll leave the merits of such a device for if/when it's available. The problem I see is that Apple is shutting down these products today, forcing people to decide what to replace them with now. If, in a year or 2 they have some wonderful thing which does everything that Airport does plus Apple TV plus Home there will be people who have adopted a competitors system(s), and won't feel like converting back, since most of these music/streaming systems are not Apple compatible for whatever reason. In marketing this is the equivalent of

• READY!
• FIRE!
• AIM!

Look at the history of Commodore and the Amiga computer. Good product, lousy marketing and support.

Huh? They're not shutting down these products today. The rumor is they're halting further development. They're still being manufactured, and still being sold.

Apple is likely working on something new involving mesh networking, a far more robust system.

Everybody is freaking out like the sky is falling.

 

[Rob_2811]

Huh? They're not shutting down these products today. The rumor is they're halting further development. Still being manufactured, and still being sold.

Apple is likely working on something new involving mesh networking, a far more robust system.

Everybody is freaking out like the sky is falling.

The report Mark Gurman posted last week for Bloomberg made it sound like he had it as good as confirmed. As for the working on mesh networking, would they disband the team working on wireless routers if they were planning to do that..?

Apple Inc. has disbanded its division that develops wireless routers, another move to try to sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple began shutting down the wireless router team over the past year, dispersing engineers to other product development groups, including the one handling the Apple TV, said the people, who asked not to be named because the decision hasn’t been publicly announced.

..https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ndon-development-of-wireless-routers-ivs0ssec


Time will tell I suppose..

 

[citysnaps]

The report Mark Gurman posted last week for Bloomberg made it sound like he had it as good as confirmed. As for the working on mesh networking, would they disband the team working on wireless routers if they were planning to do that.

Why did Steve Jobs say they would never make a tablet, while they were developing a tablet? Ditto with the "car" but bringing on Bob Mansfield.

Again, this is all a rumor. I'd be astonished if Apple would stay with a conventional WiFi router architecture whose technology has been around for at least 20 years and more or less unchanged (except for standards speed bumps), while the future is mesh. It would be like Apple staying with USB-A connectors while the future is USB-C/TB.

 

[Rob_2811]

Why did Steve Jobs say they would never make a tablet, while they were developing a tablet? Ditto with the "car" but bringing on Bob Mansfield.

Again, this is all a rumor. I'd be astonished if Apple would stay with a conventional WiFi router architecture whose technology has been around for at least 20 years and more or less unchanged (except for standards speed bumps), while the future is mesh. It would be like Apple staying with USB-A connectors while the future is USB-C/TB.

Because he was Steve Jobs and he did what he liked?

I'm not trying to say Apple will stay with outdated Wifi architecture, that isn't what the article suggests, more that Apple will get out of the router business altogether.

You say it is "likely" that Apples working on mesh networking, but why is that likely? Is it not just as likely that Apple isn't bothering with routers anymore. Gurman is usually extremely well sourced and doesn't report any old crap, if this isn't true i'll be surprised honestly. His track record must he close to 100%.

 

[citysnaps]

Because he was Steve Jobs and he did what he liked?

I'm not trying to say Apple will stay with outdated Wifi architecture, that isn't what the article suggests, more that Apple will get out of the router business altogether.

You say it is "likely" that Apples working on mesh networking, but why is that likely? Is it not just as likely that Apple isn't bothering with routers anymore. Gurman is usually extremely well sourced and doesn't report any old crap, if this isn't true i'll be surprised honestly. His track record must he close to 100%.

No, it was because Jobs wanted to throw potential competitors off track and foster complacency. Why tell the world what your product development plans are? There's no upside and a ton of downside.

It's likely because there's a ton of technology Apple can apply to wireless networking that would differentiate them from other products. How that will come together and in what form is the question. The last thing Apple will do is let the world know what they're up to.

 

[Rob_2811]

No, it was because Jobs wanted to throw potential competitors off track and foster complacency. Why tell the world what your product development plans are? There's no upside and a ton of downside.

It's likely because there's a ton of technology Apple can apply to wireless networking that would differentiate them from other products. How that will come together and in what form is the question. The last thing Apple will do is let the world know what they're up to.

The world usually finds out what Apple are doing regardless. What was the last piece of Apple hardware that was introduced to universal surprise? Almost everything Apple do leaks these days.

 

[bopajuice]

They may be going a different route. But again how long is this going to take? Years?

I never had a problem with airport express, time capsule, or any Apple networking. It just worked and even had software to manage settings.

I think this has more to do with Apple again falling behind in another market, and not being able/willing to devote resources to update/innovate their product line. Apple routers being sold (right now) are using USB 2.0 for christ sakes!