Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Ceases Development of 'AirPort' Wireless Routers as Engineers Reassigned to Other Products

Apple is sending a clear message to me that they don't care about the "it just works" mantra that they used to have. They only care about profits. This is what you get with Cook leadership. I just bought a new MacBook Pro 15" begrudgingly because I thought the outlook on Macs would be okay. It's sitting on backorder for 4-5 weeks so I may just cancel it and go full Windows.

The past 6 years I went full Apple and I really liked the environment. I have 2 Airport Extremes and an Airport Express, 2 Apple TVs, all iPhones for the family, an iPad mini, an Apple Watch, and my MacBook Pro.

I used to have a hackintosh desktop but switched my PC back when Windows 10 came out. Since then, Microsoft has been wowing me with products like the Surface Studio. I bought a Surface Pro 3 (for $420) and now I'm conflicted as to whether I should bother maintaining my Apple ecosystem. It was the iPhone that got me into Apple's walled garden and the Airport's demise might be the my way out of it. Cook doesn't see the bigger picture because he's just looking at the margins of profit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: le.bouch, scribz, idunn and 3 others
magbarn said:
Unlike laswerwriters, there's no one else making a wifi router/backup device that I can set up for my parents and not expect a phone call starting with: "My wifi isn't working!!??"
It made time capsule backups a breeze too, it's one of the ways I easily sold Apple hardware to my family members. Not all of us want to spend hours downgrading firmware on a router so we can install DD-WRT!!
Click to expand...

Honestly, the new Asus routers do this quiet nicely. Just have to plug in an external hard drive and it will work the same way.
 
Chicane-UK said:
Shame. Wireless Time Capsule backups for Mac laptops was an absolutely killer feature, and so easy to setup. I hope they have a brilliant new solution to offer coming down the pipeline!
Click to expand...

The brilliant new solution will be a lightning to Ethernet cable - 20m - to connect your iPhone to your home network.
 
As always with Tim Cook, focus on profit and not the product and the consumer.

I never thought it would get so bad, I hoped he had come sense when it came to products that customer want. It's the first time i've truly believed this... it's time for a new CEO.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Atlantico, jwdsail, idunn and 4 others
Rob_2811 said:
Like a $300 coffee table book..
Click to expand...
So what? Jeez. No-one is forcing you to buy it.

You do know it's a novelty item (well, no, you don't). Buy it now, keep it in pristine condition and sell it for a lot more in the future??

Updated to keep Rob_2811 happy.
 
How do you replace the Time Capsule? As I understand it, Sierra allows any router to be used as a wireless backup. But how easy is that to set up?
 
aplnub said:
Interesting. I have one home and two businesses on Charter and it's just a modem. Which is my preference.

I have looked at Eero and Synology but never gave them too much serious considerstion. I don't understand this move by Apple. I have AEs set up around to deliver a mesh type setup. I am left with little choice for my company and will need to start working on a migration plan.
Click to expand...

I am on Charter business and would prefer a device that isn't producing a wireless network that is unused. I should prob call them, as they have probably simply disabled the front buttons through their provisioning.

Apple is missing the big picture here. In addition to losing cohesiveness in the ecosystem, these are good intro products. I outfitted family members with Airport networks to eliminate the constant calls about WiFi issues. In several cases, these were their first Apple products. Of course that led to computers, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV's, etc. It was also easy to deploy a Time Capsule and know mom had a backup whether she knew it or not.

And don't talk about iCloud. That's always been one of Apple's worst products.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ssgbryan, idunn, mw360 and 2 others
Only one problem with that for me - but a serious one. There is exactly one usable WiFi scanner for iOS able to help with a quick identification and resolution of interference problems on the go - namely, the AirPort Utility. It can even quickly export the WiFi environment information as a csv - a pleasant feature.

If AirPort product line is gone, the utility is probably too. And Apple doesn't provide 3d party developers with any access to low level WiFi data. This means that for me, as a network engineer who has sometimes to resolve problems with wireless connectivity, iPhone becomes a less usable tool. In fact I specially checked if there was a WiFi scanner for it before deciding to buy my first one.

If I will be deprived of the opportunity to quickly check surrounding WiFi channels/SSIDs/RSSI/MAC with a thing I always have with me, I will probably look for another phone despite all the pleasure of having a phone, a watch, a tablet and a laptop working together nicely.
 
  • Like
Reactions: idunn and macintoshmac
Dagless said:
It's sad isn't it? But even with numbers like that 50 people is £25m a year in wages (using my guess of what an Apple engineer makes of £50k a year but I don't konw), and then they need to train 'Genius' staff to support that tech too. They'd need to sell a lot of stock to make that figure back and I don't think they sold too well.
Click to expand...
I think you need to re-check your calculations. ;)
 
Sound214 said:
Wow, this stinks! I've dealt with plenty of router alternatives, and AirPort is by far more superior. And you don't have to hide them, since they're beautiful. ****.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I suspect, however, that Apple will blend wifi, Time Machine, and Apple TV into a single home-hub product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JGRE and StoneJack
ginkobiloba said:
This just deserves a giant facepalm...

Steve Jobs had these things made because they made it easy for people to stay inside the Apple ecosystem, NOT because they were big revenue sources !!! "Need a wireless router but afraid of their complexity ? Here's a branded Apple router, easy to setup, plug it and forget about it. See how everything is just easier in Mac world ?"

The whole point of these accessories was to make the Apple computing ecosystem less threatening, not to be a major revenue source. There there to help you justify buying into the Mac/OSX world rather than into the PC/Windows world.

Tim Cook will be the one who will bury Apple into the ground.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agreed ... unless there is a strategic vision behind that move we don't know about, this seems like a horribly short sighted decision which with other similar ones will weaken the Apple ecosystem and customer loyalty in the long term, all in the name of short term profitability metrics.

And I would also be sad to see the product line go as AirPorts have been very reliable for me and the combination of small size, built-in antennas, and built in power supply makes them more attractive to me than pretty much any other router on the market.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jwdsail and Huck
I just don't get why Apple haven't brought back Steve Wozniack.

He knew SJ better than anyone and could help to revitalize the company, and take Apple back in the (right) direction it was going.
 
bob24 said:
Absolutely agreed ... unless there is a strategic vision behind that move we don't know about, this seems like a horribly short sighted decision which with other similar ones will weaken the Apple ecosystem and customer loyalty in the long term, all in the name of short term profitability metrics.
Click to expand...

There has been a lot of talk of Apple developing their own Echo competitor to serve as sort of a home hub. Would make a lot of sense to have some sort of router capability built into that. Especially so if the product has some kind of multi room support, much like what Eero offers.
 
Wondering how many of these people who are complaining would actually stop buying Apple products because of these recent decisions. I don't like this one either, but calm down. If this isn't the "That's it, I'm done with Apple." moment in your life just take in a slow deep breath and move on. I was hoping to read about alternative recommendations but instead it's page after page of, "why this sucks" and "I hate Apple now but will still continue to buy from them." And yes, I understand the irony of this rant but it had to be said.
 
Out of the router business. Out of the display business. But a $3bn investment in tacky headphones!
a71c10f3-9a12-4e6d-8f9f-07e489aa46fd.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gixene, Atlantico, TiquanS and 14 others
This move makes no sense. One of the main points of getting Apple is that it just works. Why are you going to make things harder on the consumer? I have two Airports in the house and was looking at getting another one to have everything work smoothly even in the back yard. Simplicity is one of the reasons for Apple. Just a stupid move but watch them bring the Airport back when a new standard is formed. What is next after AC?
 
  • Like
Reactions: jwdsail and Huck
cwazytech said:
Wondering how many of these people who are complaining would actually stop buying Apple products because of these recent decisions. I don't like this one either, but calm down. If this isn't the "That's it, I'm done with Apple." moment in your life just take in a slow deep breath and move on. I was hoping to read about alternative recommendations but instead it's page after page of, "why this sucks" and "I hate Apple now but will still continue to buy from them." And yes, I understand the irony of this rant but it had to be said.
Click to expand...

I suspect this plus the automation change is close for some people. It's also confirmation to many that the desktop days are over. That's how I view it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back