Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup [Updated]
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
"..vastly superior.." - rubbish
We run AEBS in our shop 24/7/52 for years w/o problems of any sort. Speed / coverage / reliability / plug n play = vastly superior, not all the latest mesh marketing BS.
Does anyone know anything about these? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5FOVA...3u&pd_rd_r=MDYRGPTFJGZPGWFDWS66&pd_rd_w=jw0o1
It looks like it could be a good solution to those of us who use the AirPort Express for Airplay. Thoughts?
It looks like it could be a good solution to those of us who use the AirPort Express for Airplay. Thoughts?
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Not that I'm aware of. You'll probably need a new router, and then attach some NAS box that supports TimeMachine.
I was always a fan of my Airport Extreme, but I upgraded this year to a Netgear Orbi and I have been happy. I don't blame Apple for getting out, plenty of options out there. Put focus elsewhere.
It is not an either or game - why not do both? Comments abound about the AEBS has not been updated for ages, meaning no Apple $$$ have been spent on AEBS product engineering, so what is the problem with continued building of them? Tim Cook is the supply chain guru, right?
Apple stock continues to crater, negative for the year.
You don't understand anything about networking if you think Apple's routers are the best. Apple rarely updates the firmware, so there are many open unfixed vulnerabilities and they are nowhere near the best when it comes to performance. Why would they be when they are years old?
Your photo confirms that Apple is planning on becoming and iPad/iPhone seller exclusively, along with all the needed dongles.
Profit is the only reason companies exist.
Yeah, can you even imagine all the drooling 40-year-olds that have been using computers their whole lives attempting to obtain and setup a wireless router?
The Apple executives seem to be "stuck" in the old smaller Apple company mindset where they believe every single product decision needs to pass through them. This has led to several cases where they're so razer focused on a single product / category that they let everything else languish.
We saw this during the Watch roll up and roll out, where their entire Mac line didn't get touched. They then moved and focused on the laptops again, and their other products went quiet and slowed down.
They don't seem to either trust their departments to do work on their own, or are so "full of themselves" that they honestly believe only they can steer / control every product aspect.
But may not support AirPlay 2. That’s why I am looking into other devices now - if they continue active development, AirPlay 2 is more likely to show up.
I suspect he would have continued to direct decent support for Mac development - an updated Mac Pro/Mini, a slim line of MacBooks, and a thoroughly ported MacBook Pro. I'll bet you wouldn't have so many varieties of iPhones and that the headphone jack wouldn't have been dumped - at a least not yet.
Don't knock it 'til you try it. My personal experience comparing the first-gen Eero mesh system with the latest (2013) AirPort Extremes is that my wireless throughput with the Eeros is anywhere between two and a half to nearly ten times faster than what I was able to get with the AirPort Extremes depending on the device I'm using. The Eeros have been the most "Apple-like" third-party hardware I've used in years.
I'm within that age bracket and can tell you I am quite capable of doing this. I know many people in that age bracket that can do so. I think your age bracket may be too wide.
I knew this was coming so I switched out my Time Capsule with a Netgear Nighthawk and never looked back. It's really too bad this happened. I liked my Time Capsule.
I remember when I had Airport Extreme 2012-14
Was really refreshing at the time because not many had ease of set-up and UI that Apple does.
Since last Airport revision, not much wireless technology standards have changed. I mean, we are all just waiting on more 802.11ac adoption and getting marketed the ridiculous claims of doubling speeds; too many AC speed standards to list.
All this culminated in patient waiting for real changes, Apple lost interest, mesh networks have taken over, and Apple is bowing out.
Was really refreshing at the time because not many had ease of set-up and UI that Apple does.
Since last Airport revision, not much wireless technology standards have changed. I mean, we are all just waiting on more 802.11ac adoption and getting marketed the ridiculous claims of doubling speeds; too many AC speed standards to list.
All this culminated in patient waiting for real changes, Apple lost interest, mesh networks have taken over, and Apple is bowing out.
I dont know if it's officially open to 3rd parties, but there are repositories for linux that are available to make a linux OS network share behave exactly the same. Have my home server setup this way.
Ha! The Internet’s biggest successes were built by people who are now in their 40s and 50s.
... the difference being that Ford has continued to develop the Mustang since 1968. Apple has largely neglected non-iOS devices the last 4 or 5 years. I still retain my MacBook Pro (1,1) for the same reasons you keep your '68 Mustang. Through product neglect Apple has created a "chicken and the egg" situation. Sales of certain devices decline along with consistent lack of development or support. Eventually non-Apple products become more attractive. I certainly no longer buy Apple laptops, and no, would not have bought an Airport device the last several years.I replaced our Airport Extreme last December with a NETGEAR Nighthawk 2300. Remote Speaker aside, the NETGEAR was as easy to set up. It plays perfectly with all 10 Apple Devices on it in our home. Firmware updates are as easy as 1, 2, 3. The performance is vastly better with over 4- 5 devices running off it.
While we enjoyed all the years of Airport the writing was on the wall 2 years ago. It's like my 68 Mustang GT. I look at her in the garage and feel warm and happy. However, she will never be my daily driver.
iPad Pro. Apple Pencil. Apple Watch. AirPods. HomePod. The rumoured Apple glasses and Apple car. Plus whatever other products Apple is working on that we don’t yet know about. Apple clearly has a lot on their plate.
People talk so much about Apple needing to focus, then complain when Apple does precisely that and proceeds to drop the products that they so happen to be using, so that Apple can focus on products which these people might be less enthusiastic about.
See the inherent contradiction here?
And speaking of financial engineering, where do you think Apple gets the cash with which to carry out share buybacks, if not from sales of its products? And for Apple to be as profitable as it is today, there is clearly no lack of people queuing up to buy Apple products. And why would people be willing to pay a premium for them, if not because they are great products?