Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Apple has officially ended development on its AirPort line of products, which includes the AirPort Express ($99), the AirPort Extreme ($199), and the AirPort Time Capsule ($299).

"We're discontinuing the Apple AirPort base station products. They will be available through Apple.com, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last," an Apple spokesperson told iMore.

Apple has not updated its AirPort products since 2012 (Express) and 2013 (Extreme and Time Capsule), and in late 2016, Bloomberg said that Apple had stopped development on the AirPort lineup with the AirPort engineers reassigned to other products.

Apple reportedly began shutting down its AirPort unit in early 2016, in an effort to "sharpen" its focus on the "consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue."

Following news that Apple had shuttered the AirPort unit, the company began selling third-party routers in January of 2018 when it offered the Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi System.

Apple's AirPort base stations provided unique benefits that are not available through third-party options like built-in Time Machine backup support in the Time Capsule and AirPlay functionality for the AirPort Express.

While the AirPort line is being discontinued, Apple will be providing service and parts for current generation AirPort Base Stations for the next five years. iMore says Apple also plans to share some knowledge-base articles in the coming weeks to assist customers who are transitioning away from the AirPort Express, Extreme, and Time Capsule.

Apple plans to continue to sell the three AirPort products online and in its retail stores until available supplies are exhausted. No price drops have been implemented at this time.

Update: Apple has shared a new support document offering tips on choosing a Wi-Fi router to use with Apple devices. The company recommends a router that offerrs 802.11ac, dual-band support, WPA2 Personal encryption, and MIMO or MU-MIMO.

Article Link: Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup [Updated]

 

[JPack]

About time Apple made this news official.

Even back in 2013, the AirPort Extreme didn't stand out from others in terms of routing performance.

Either be the best in the market or go home. Apple made the right decision.

 

[camomac]

This makes me a little sad.
The AirPort Express was nice to use with satelite speakers.

 

[826317]

It's a pity. They were very decent pieces of hardware.

 

[cliffster82]

Love our airport extreme, hope it lasts a good long while. No idea what I'll inevitably replace it with someday.

 

[MarkJames68]

Disappointing but not surprising. While not the "best" anymore they are still the easiest to use if you have an Apple-heavy ecosystem.

 

[KPOM]

It's a pity. They were very decent pieces of hardware.

However the market has matured and it isn’t a core business. That said, Time Capsule integration was nice (though sometimes better in theory than in practice).

 

[ck2875]

So what do people recommend (that isn't Google WiFi)?

—

Edit: People have so far suggested....

• Eero
• NETGEAR Nighthawk
• NETGEAR Orbi
• Asus RT-AC68U
  
• Luma
• AmpliFi HD
  
• Ubiquiti UniFi

 

[km9898]

This company loves destroying everything that got them to the top.

 

[rjtyork]

Well, I don’t trust any of the other so I guess this is my last chance to get one of these 3TB time capsules. That should last me 3-7 years

 

[BigMac?]

Well, Tim, it was nice with you.

THE NEXT PLEASE!

 

[ThisBougieLife]

We always had an AirPort in our house when I was younger, but our latest router is a Linksys. It's meh. I get dropped connections with my MBP that I never had with the AirPort. Oh well.

Next up: Mac Mini

 

[KPOM]

Love our airport extreme, hope it lasts a good long while. No idea what I'll inevitably replace it with someday.

Probably a mesh router. They work better over a wider range. Apple sells a third party one in its stores now.

 

[Art_Vandalay]

I just hope they keep the Airport Firmware and Airport Utility app up to date

 

[Wanted797]

This sucks. I always wanted one of the time capsules. By the time they came around to buy 802.11ac was on 99% of devices. And then they said they weren’t updating them.

 

[User 6502]

that's sad, they were great products.

 

[zorinlynx]

I was really hoping that they were just waiting until the next WiFi standard to come out to release new AirPort base stations. I'm sad that they're being discontinued.

However, I do wonder: What will they recommend to replace the Time Capsule for networked backup purposes? We can still do Time Machine backups to local USB drives, but retiring the Time Capsule leaves a big hole for this application.

 

[lec0rsaire]

This is really sad news. They still even sell the SuperDrive but they’re killing off the TCs. Glad I bought a new one in January of last year. It’s under AppleCare through my MacBook Pro until 12/19. It’s definitely not the best ac router since it came out almost 5 years ago but time machine backups are so convenient. I will really miss it the day it stops working. I hope they reconsider their decision and start making routers again in the future.

Heck I actually want a SuperDrive just for ripping CDs myself but I refuse to pay $80 for one and I don’t like those open tray drives. They tend to always fail sooner or later. They also don’t have the clean aluminum look that pairs with macs so well. I wish they would at least upgrade them to USB-C or stop integrating the cable and offer both USB type A and C cables with the package.

 

[bladerunner2000]

They kill this, one of their better products, but continue to sell hot garbage like Mac Mini, Homepod, Watch and the outdated, overpriced and unupgradeable Mac Pro?

 

[KPOM]

So what do people recommend (that isn't Google WiFi)?

How about the mesh router listed in the article?

 

[Mykbibby]

This would have really bummed me out—however, the Linksys Velop system is so outstanding it completely eliminates the need for Apple to develop an in-house solution. When third party companies out-Apple Apple, there's no need for Apple to remain in the space.

 

[zahuh]

For anyone out there that has AT&T, I moved to google Wi-Fi and AT&T “Wi-Fi calling” does not work with it. I ended up returning the Google Wi-Fi which was unfortunate.

 

[jonblatho]

This company loves destroying everything that got them to the top.

Do people seriously believe AirPort “got [Apple] to the top”?

 

[Kaibelf]

This company loves destroying everything that got them to the top.

Hyperbole much? If this was a massive seller then it wouldn’t have been cut, just like their $1000 monitors. What got them to the top were music players, and then phones which incorporated those music players. Everything else was limited in scope and adoption even among Apple users. I doubt that 1% of iPhone users in any single recent quarter purchased an Airport device in the past 3-5 years.

 

[KPOM]

They kill this, one of their better products, but continue to sell hot garbage like Mac Mini, Homepod, Watch and the outdated, overpriced and unupgradeable Mac Pro?

It hasn’t been updated in 5 years. The router market is a lot more mature now than it was in 1999.