Apple 'Not' Working on New AirPort, But Apple TV and HomePod Provide Glimmer of Hope

[ChrisA]

What routers are considered the best nowadays? I have an Asus that has been decent, but I’d prefer good or great to decent.

Asus can be great. What makes them so is that EVERY one of their routers runs the same firmware. So if you want to build out a complex system with an Ethernet backbone and several access points, you can do all that from a point and click web interface. Or if you want a semi-automatic configure of a WiFi mesh system, you can do that too.

Again, because use the same firmware you can always recycle the older "best router" to be a mesh node when you upgrade.
You don't need to buy a special "mesh system". Any set of their routers will do.

Finally, Asus is one of the few routers you can setup without need to create an account on the cloud. They work entirely locally.

 

[Xade]

Making new AirPorts would be a licence to print even more money for Apple. I don't understand why they wouldn't want even more money.

 

[Xade]

Wouldn't a NAS solution fill the void? With the added benefit that you don't need to replace it whenever you want to upgrade wifi generations.

I have tried a NAS solution. It seemed to back up fine until I tried a restore. The result wasn't great.

 

[retroneo]

Ubiquiti (their consumer line is Amplifi). dont waste money on anything else

Ubiquiti is the old AirPort team from Apple.

 

[mpetrides]

It's not happening, it's never happening again. I was in unique position within AppleCare to know, when they exited this business, that it was broadly because support for router devices is astronomically hard given the amount of variables – placement, ISP, people's unique homes, city vs country, the list goes on and on. They were (and are for the players in the space) a support nightmare and are NOT in Apple's best interest, perception wise, to bring them back to market when it's even MORE complicated now than when they exited the category. Of COURSE, they could...But they will not.

I have always suspected that the headaches associated with providing support for WiFi routers were the primary reason that AAPL discontinued making routers. It's nice to hear an Apple insider confirm that suspicion.

But, of course, it also makes me very sad because it presages AAPL never, ever reentering the router market. And I, like many others, would jump at the chance to return to using Apple routers. Heck, my home network is still, to this day, named “Airport Network.”

 

[ksec]

because an airport with time machine means they can't sell icloud services.

They could force iCloud Encrypted Backup subscription to go with Time Capsule. S3 Glacier Deep Archive is $1TB / Month with 12 hours Retrieval time. Apple could have offer a consumer facing solution based on that for $2/TB.

 

[ksec]

May be they could make Apple TV as as router instead of Access Point?

 

[thettareddast]

What routers are considered the best nowadays? I have an Asus that has been decent, but I’d prefer good or great to decent.

Asus in general are good. Netgear is supposed to be robust too but I didnt like my experience with it.

TP-Link Deco mesh system, turns out, are just rock solid. I have 2 sets that I set up once (super easy) and basically never ever have to manage or reboot. The reliability has been as “Apple” as possible.

I don't need or even want an AirPort. The Apple TVs I have work just fine for me. I might buy another HomePod to get stereo playback, but I don't really need that either. Tell you what I want, what I really really want: I want Apple to focus like a laser on core competencies, and leverage them for maximum profit. Those competencies are operating systems, services, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs. Consumer products, every one. Enough with the doo-dads. Just keep improving those core products and services and the customer base will continue to both grow and upgrade. (Speaking as a shareholder, former employee and current consumer.)

Why not the doodads? Their AppleTV, AirPods, and other doodads are great - best in class.

You cant grow if you dont expand categories. The ones that you list as “core” started out as a Doodad, like the Tablet because they saw phones and laptops get stale. The Watch is most definitely a doodad.

 

[redmac]

because an airport with time machine means they can't sell icloud services.

Did someone find a way to back up a Mac to iCloud? If not, what you are suggesting doesn’t make sense.

 

[omenatarhuri]

It would be a great double punch if you could get a bunch of HomePod mini and each would expand your mesh.

 

[RalfTheDog]

Sadly, Ι suspect home routers will soon be a dead market. ISPs are starting to include a router with their service by default. Next, I expect them to disable passive mode so, you can't even put your own device after the router. How can they monitor all of your activity and sell the data, if you can use and control your own router?

 

[MacFan23]

because an airport with time machine means they can't sell icloud services.

I don't understand the logic here, they're fundamentally different things.
Time Machine backs up macs, iCloud is primarily a syncing service, there's no real overlap.

It would be great if we had an equivalent of Time Machine on iOS to back up locally though.

 

[MacHeritage]

From what I remember about the situation back then, reading the news at the time, Apple discontinued AirPort Base Stations because the government wanted to force them to back door them (or something along those lines) and Apple said no and discontinued them instead of having the government force them and that is why they kept them as secure as possible for as long as they did. Wikileaks had come out previously about the CIA trying to hack their way into Apple's Airport Base Stations but couldn't etc.

I'm sure the other reasons expressed throughout this thread also helped seal the deal.

 

[TheOldChevy]

What routers are considered the best nowadays? I have an Asus that has been decent, but I’d prefer good or great to decent.

AmplifiHD is good for me, I have 3 serving as router and WiFi points. Not cheap but reliable. Probably slightly ageing. And an old TimeCapsule for backups, but this one needs refreshing.

 

[Artemis70]

because an airport with time machine means they can't sell icloud services.

If only they would sell icloud services similar to time machine. But Apple doesn't offer an alternative for time machine. I'm still using my 2 TB Airport Time Capsule for backups. When it dies I will have to buy a NAS for the sole purpose of time machine backups.

 

[michelepri]

I used to have a couple of them and they were total garbage. I ended up throwing them in the garbage and it’s good that apple never tries that again . It was a miserable failure

 

[zombierunner]

What routers are considered the best nowadays? I have an Asus that has been decent, but I’d prefer good or great to decent.

been using the deco be65 very good so far

 

[Artemis70]

Did Apple do something to recent macOS that keeps you from setting up your own local TM backups now? That's been a thing for years. All you need is your own NAS and an SMB share to point it to.

Yes, that works. However, spending $700 on a NAS for just TM backups is a lot when compared to the price of the AirPort Time Capsule.

 

[ingik]

Make Routers Great Again!

 

[nt5672]

I have tried a NAS solution. It seemed to back up fine until I tried a restore. The result wasn't great.

The issue here is Time Machine not usually the NAS. Time Machine is another Apple product that has been neglected for years, is buggy as H^ll, and should not be used as your main backup for anything more complicated that Pages document backups. Search the internet for the details, they are out there.

 

[Frosties]

Couldn't agree more. It's that good.

Have they solved the heat problem that plagued apple time capsules? Question come from looking at their router and from looking at their website it has a similar build with mains cable directly wired into the unit and not outside requiring more cooling. Looking for future purchase.

 

[Jay Tee]

because an airport with time machine means they can't sell icloud services.

Why not have both: on-site and off-site backups ?!

 

[Jay Tee]

For those that don't know, Ubiquiti was formed by some of the team that created the original Apple networking products (AirPorts). They work amazing well (most of the time), are simple to use, and are also created with the mindset that "They just work".

Ubiquiti is the old AirPort team from Apple.

There's definitely a strong case for Apple providing more secure networking for its users.

 

[maxfromdenmark]

Please make routers again! Time Capsule was incredible, and made backups for regular people’s Macs so easy. And this could also push HomeKit into more homes, giving more Apple users a Thread/Matter hub.

Time Capsule died in thousands of units. Also mine. I had to exchange mine and sold it immediately. Never again

 

[theluggage]

Sadly, Ι suspect home routers will soon be a dead market. ISPs are starting to include a router with their service by default.

May depend where you live, bit "starting" is an understatement - its been pretty much standard for ISPs to bundle a modem/router here in the UK for years - although you can usually either replace it with your own, "opt out" or choose a more specialist ISP.

And, yup, I think that's one reason why Apple will stay out of the router market: Apple's Unique Selling Point would be "just works" and, being realistic, anybody in the market for a point-and-drool, "just works" router is probably better off sticking with whatever is installed and supported by their ISP (or you'll hit a brick wall at the call centre when they find you don't have the standard router).

I see that there are also routers with Time Machine support (unsurprising because everybody uses Samba which added TM support years ago).

...if you want something a bit more flexible, configurable, even hackable (OpenWRT)... or which supports bleeding edge WiFi standards then... well, that's never really been Apple's strength.

Have to confess I'm still using the bog standard modem/router that my ISP supplied having never got around to replacing it. It routes. The DHCP/DNS features aren't much cop but I've got them turned off and use a raspberry Pi with PiHole for that... and anybody who lost me at DHCP is probably best letting their ISP do the config.

...then, some ISPs also offer digital TV services which need specific setups (although I guess they're being replaced by pure internet streaming now) and now, in the UK, landline POTS telephones are being phased out and ISPs are offering units with phone sockets and DECT support for IP telephones. Along with punters choosing the right ethernet/PPPoE/ADSL/VDSL modem/router combo, all that would be a can of worms for Apple to support.