how Sad.. I have two that cover my home and they are so easy to setup to work together... im not looking forward to going back to Linksys/netgear etc 
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Apple Ceases Development of 'AirPort' Wireless Routers as Engineers Reassigned to Other Products
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TC hard drives are fairly easy to replace. You can use any 3.5" SATA hard drive as the replacement.
Yeah the unsupported hardware thing sucks. I have 4 AC Airports deployed, just added the last one recently to cure some WiFi dead spot woes for my wife's home work area. Now I've got 4 unsupported devices.
Eero here I come when my AE dies. It's 4 years old and was going to get another one to increase coverage in our new bigger house. Timing is perfect for me to abandon Apples networking products, along with their MBP products.
I would recommend you look at the eero https://eero.com/ website to see how the mesh network works. I would then look at the sonos http://www.sonos.com/en-us/home. They have wifi speakers and a product called connect that will allow you to connect your old hifi system. None of it is cheap to be sure, but after much research this is what I went with and it has worked perfectly. I set it up in August and have yet to have a hiccup.
a) You had to make a decision on size with the Time Capsule as well.
b) Is it really that much off an inconvenient to leave it 'handing there'
c) You Literally have to just click on a button saying it will be used for Time Machine. ONE BUTTON!!
d) It is also one click button and no problems.
I have had the same asus router for more than 2 years and never had firmware problems, it was always one click update. This obviosly does not apple to a $20 asus router.
http://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1004458/
- How big a screen do you need? The Plus series phones are so big they barely fit in some pockets. If you need a bigger screen than that it's time to go to a tablet.
- I agree about the Apple TV. The user experience is better so I was willing to pony up the dough but a lot of people aren't. Chromecast and Fire TV stick are destroying Apple in this category. Apple really should drop the price to compete better.
- I guess we differ in opinion here; external modem is the way to go. This way you can buy any router on the market, or even use a Linux server as a router. Modem+router combos are usually not very good at either.
- I agree here as well. Apple Music is a great concept but was hobbled by the unreliable iCloud Music Library and the fact that it corrupts metadata and sometimes mismatches tracks. Right now I use iTunes for music I *own*, and Play Music for everything else.
Absolutely spot on! I used to buy into the Apple ecosystem because over time it appeared to be getting more tightly integrated and the hardware, software and usability kept getting better and, even at the price point, just plain more desirable. Now quite frankly I don't trust Apple enough to invest in its products - they are driven by profit and are no longer interested in non-fashion items. They will drop anything now and cynically dress it up as progress. Not that they haven't always been driven by profit of course but pre-Cook the regular innovation created brand excitement - today, more like brand excrement.
Unreal. Apple has killed off so many things in the last few years. They killed off Aperture which disrupted Apple's loyal creatives, they killed off the headphone jack early and have introduced dongle-life across their line-up, they are killing off the MacPro and MacMini, they killed off their displays.
It's time for me to accept that the magical experience that Apple provided is gone. I've been in denial about it, but the writing is on the wall right in front of me. This is so disheartening...
It's time for me to accept that the magical experience that Apple provided is gone. I've been in denial about it, but the writing is on the wall right in front of me. This is so disheartening...
If this is true, this sucks big one!
Apple has dissolved its division which develops wireless routers and is now sending engineers who worked on the AirPort lineup into other product teams, including one currently working on Apple TV. The news comes from a report by Bloomberg, who said Apple has been slowly shutting down the division over the past year and made the decision "to try to sharpen the company's focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue."
Currently, Apple sells three wireless routers, including the AirPort Express ($99), AirPort Extreme ($199), and AirPort Time Capsule ($299), but none of the devices have seen a refresh since 2013. A temporary stock shortage earlier in the year gave hope that a refresh of the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule was coming during WWDC, but Apple never mentioned the products during its keynote. The trio of wireless routers still remain available for purchase for the time being.
The central reason for abandoning the AirPort line appears to focus mainly on its small revenue gains in comparison to the company's more lucrative products, like the iPhone. Apple includes its routers in the "other products" category of its annual financial results, a section which generated $11.1 billion in fiscal 2016, or about 5 percent of the company's total sales.
Article Link: Apple Ceases Development of 'AirPort' Wireless Routers as Engineers Reassigned to Other Products
The Extreme is a better choice really. You get to choose your own hard drive and replace it easily. With any luck they will just drop the Time Capsule.
I wanted a bigger screen back in the iPhone 4/4S days. Android were offering larger screens and a host of other features Apple refused to have or said were unnecessary (a lot of which they've since adopted) so I switched.
Regarding the router, my ISP started sending wifi routers with built-in modems, so to use the Extreme meant routing through the router. Two routers seemed overkill! Plus it used two sockets. So I switched to the ISP router only and found my wifi range considerably better. So I then paid for the TP-Link and it's better still.
But dropping Apple routers altogether is just forcing people to try other routers. It's a shame.
Depressing. Airport brand has been rock solid through the years. I recommend them all the time.
Ah, this sucks. I had terrible experiences with routers until I got my Airport Extreme, which works all the time, basically no setup, no resetting needed.
I was really hoping that the Airport would turn into Apple's version of the Amazon Echo
I was really hoping that the Airport would turn into Apple's version of the Amazon Echo
As someone who has only briefly owned an Apple router, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Personally, I don't need a Cinema Display, Apple printer, Apple router, etc to complete my expieremce.
I quickly took my Apple router back because the cost to benefit ratio. That was years ago. I have a router currently setup that works fine with airplay and I also have an external drive plugged into it. The benefit with that is, I can swap drives as needed, add more storage space, etc. The only downfall I can potentially see is it isn't as pretty as a time capsule unit but to be honest I don't think I would leave that in plain sight either. It still needs a power cord and Ethernet. I like to hide that stuff.
Also, for me, all my main devices are connected via Ethernet. My Apple TV, Mac's, etc. The only thing using wireless are tablets and iPhones. Wireless has come a long way but give me a hard line any day. Cat 5e/6...yes please.
I foresee Apple Apple partnering with a company to fill this void. At the end of the day, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
I'm long in AAPL.
I quickly took my Apple router back because the cost to benefit ratio. That was years ago. I have a router currently setup that works fine with airplay and I also have an external drive plugged into it. The benefit with that is, I can swap drives as needed, add more storage space, etc. The only downfall I can potentially see is it isn't as pretty as a time capsule unit but to be honest I don't think I would leave that in plain sight either. It still needs a power cord and Ethernet. I like to hide that stuff.
Also, for me, all my main devices are connected via Ethernet. My Apple TV, Mac's, etc. The only thing using wireless are tablets and iPhones. Wireless has come a long way but give me a hard line any day. Cat 5e/6...yes please.
I foresee Apple Apple partnering with a company to fill this void. At the end of the day, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
I'm long in AAPL.
I was planning on replacing my TC in the medium term, but I guess now I'll just roll my own SMB share for my various devices.
As far as partnering to bring out new devices... remember that partnership with Cisco? Those that aren't in the industry or are enterprise customers might not know this, but both companies have been heavily pushing it lately. Hopefully a neat (Meraki-like, iCloud integrated?) little device or cluster of devices reaches us, eventually.
As far as partnering to bring out new devices... remember that partnership with Cisco? Those that aren't in the industry or are enterprise customers might not know this, but both companies have been heavily pushing it lately. Hopefully a neat (Meraki-like, iCloud integrated?) little device or cluster of devices reaches us, eventually.
This is a darn shame. Before I fully migrated to Apple I was running a Windows Home Server with a Netgear router. It was able to meet all of my needs and I got remote wake working. I eventually retired it due to lack of support and the time required to maintain it.
I now run a mac server with AE router and the setup was 10x easier and 10x less maintenance. With Apple removing itself from the router business, I fear for the "it just works" ecosystem that I've been thoroughly enjoying.
I now run a mac server with AE router and the setup was 10x easier and 10x less maintenance. With Apple removing itself from the router business, I fear for the "it just works" ecosystem that I've been thoroughly enjoying.
You are NOT wrong, many 3rd party vendors support airplay.
My Time Capsule just got fried with a power surge two days ago. After reassigning my bridged Airport Extreme, I was just starting to consider my options for wifi and a back-up drive, and was thinking that since the space most served by the now-reassigned bridged wifi is an uninsulated three-season room, I could wait until a spring announcement to see if a refresh was coming (esp. since I have my most important files backed up in the cloud, as well).
Well, now I might as well take advantage of the holiday special on SSD external drives. Maybe I'll pair it with an Airport, but after the latest laptop unveiling, I'm not feeling much brand loyalty.
EDIT: Well, so much for looking elsewhere ... I just found a 500mb Time Capsule (same size as the one that just died) on craigslist for $35. I figure that'll tide me over until I see what sort of hybrid wifi/smart home hub Apple releases in the next year or so.
Well, now I might as well take advantage of the holiday special on SSD external drives. Maybe I'll pair it with an Airport, but after the latest laptop unveiling, I'm not feeling much brand loyalty.
EDIT: Well, so much for looking elsewhere ... I just found a 500mb Time Capsule (same size as the one that just died) on craigslist for $35. I figure that'll tide me over until I see what sort of hybrid wifi/smart home hub Apple releases in the next year or so.
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I can't stand the thought of using another router / time capsule... The iphone / ipad airport apps are dead simple to use too... In fact, I think another product or products is going to replace these... If for nothing else, time machine...
Think about it... a Homekit hub / time capsule / app tv / Siri device that can transport you to another time and place, just by clicking your red ruby slippers together... You know, something like that!!!~ Cmon Apple, get-er done!!!
Think about it... a Homekit hub / time capsule / app tv / Siri device that can transport you to another time and place, just by clicking your red ruby slippers together... You know, something like that!!!~ Cmon Apple, get-er done!!!
Apple is doing the right thing as far as I'm concerned. They don't need to be distracted with silly products like routers anymore, they have bigger and more ambitious projects and products in the pipeline.
Exactly. It's a good decision, but an entirely predictable doom-laden reaction on this forum.