Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup [Updated]

[and 1989 others]

Apple should sell of the Computer and macOS side of its business to a dedicated new company that will actually stick with and develop top of the range computing.

Apple could then be Apple-Tel a phone and tablet manufacturer with Apple-Soft Music and movie streaming services.

 

[Hedwigg]

Couldn't tell you, but that router is A+ and ASUS doesn't make garbage either, it's one of the best PC parts manufacturers on the market... (probably THE best for GPUs).

I have to disagree... I purchased two ASUS routers before deciding to drop the cash on a Time Capsule, and both were total piles of garbage. The Time Capsule outperforms both by far.

 

[Sorrel]

I wonder if this also spells the end of Time Machine as a feature? There must be a lot of people who only used Apple's Time Capsules for Time Machine and so won't use it anymore...

I set up a small odroid time capsule server, but it wasn't straightforward and is definitely not something I would recommend to those that just want to plug and play.

 

[nitramluap]

This is disappointing. The biggest thing I'll miss (when my current hardware dies) is the Airplay 3.5mm output which I plug into my very nice amplified B&O speakers. I'm sure as hell not replacing them with a HomePod... ever.

Sure, I could use an Apple TV... but to configure & update the Apple TV requires... a 'TV' so you can interact with it. That's not an option in the location I have the Airport Expresses.

For 10 years I've had Airports & Airport Expresses and they've been flawless, with that level of tight integration with the Apple ecosystem not seen with other devices.

Just because something isn't 'profitable' doesn't mean you shouldn't continue to sell it.

With HomeKit, this is a space which Apple really should produce something great - not just better Wifi, but also a bluetooth mesh to help extend all those BLE HomeKit devices that are just too far away to connect reliably.

Ho hum...

 

[manu chao]

You’re right. I wouldn’t use it more than that but it’s more of having that capability. The CD is very important to me. It was cutting edge when I was a little kid and I still like and use physical media. There’s a feeling that tangible goods produce that you just can’t get for digital stuff.

I'm down to ripping only a handful of CDs (or DVD/Blu-ray) per year, but even when that number was still a bit higher, I didn't mind pulling out a $50 external optical drive for that.

 

[lec0rsaire]

I'm down to ripping only a handful of CDs (or DVD/Blu-ray) per year, but even when that number was still a bit higher, I didn't mind pulling out a $50 external optical drive for that.

Initially when the optical drive was being eliminated, my biggest concern was actually system recovery but this has been taken care of with a surprisingly elegant solution with internet recovery. I believe Windows still uses a recovery partition for the most part or requires a flash drive for this purpose. I’ve only installed Windows 10 through Parallels or other VMs so I don’t know if they have something comparable to Internet Recovery.

 

[akidd]

Why? Just why. Worked 100% and added to eco system. We knew it was coming for a long time.

 

[Deliro]

I have to disagree... I purchased two ASUS routers before deciding to drop the cash on a Time Capsule, and both were total piles of garbage. The Time Capsule outperforms both by far.

And I'll also have to disagree. The Asus RT-AC86U is a powerhouse of a router. Of course I am not the typical user. You flash it with Merlin-WRT and you're set. I can run my whole network on VPN through the router and have no OpenVPN bottlenecks (over 100Mbps). Which is impressive for a consumer grade router. It also has time capsule capability if you're into that. Works excellent with all my wireless/wired devices and has never crashed. My Airport crashed once or twice a week and seemed way underpowered.

Open source routers are the way to go..

 

[Neodym]

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.

Some NAS‘s offer TimeMachine support as well. Or you get any old Mac, connect drives and share them in your network. Not sure if you need the server app (I have it running), but it’s quite affordable these days.
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The Asus RT-AC86U is a powerhouse of a router. [...] You flash it with Merlin-WRT and you're set. [...] Open source routers are the way to go..

Many customers (myself included) chose Apple for NOT having to flash, fiddle and maintain a flurry of devices. That’s why I was willing to pay the Apple premium. I DON‘T WANT to dig deep into my devices anymore, I want to USE them.

If the new Apple philosophy is to maintain more and more of my devices myself manually in cryptic interfaces, I’ll rather switch to Linux: Less limitations, more possibilities and at least I can save a bunch of money, if I am forced to invest more and more of my precious spare time. Or perhaps even Windows: Win10 may not be my cup of tea in terms of visuals, but it seems to work pretty well.

 

[fairuz]

Some NAS‘s offer TimeMachine support as well. Or you get any old Mac, connect drives and share them in your network. Not sure if you need the server app (I have it running), but it’s quite affordable these days.

Old Mac and TC/AEBS are the only real ways to do it. You can try a NAS that supposedly supports it, but really there's no standard for Time Machine, and they could stop working with later versions of macOS. Sure, you can take the risk, but Apple really should be better about this.

 

[tresmith]

I am definitely not happy. That is one big loss.

In case you didn't know, Apple routers were one of the hardest to hack which is why I bought one.

 

[andreyush]

Oh...no..Apple is doomed.
Right?

 

[MrGuder]

Maybe in 2023 Apple will come out with a new Time Capsule?

The TC is really 2 things in one for me, backs up my Mac mini will ease and peace of mind and provides me with great wireless reception. What I like is it just works for me and I don't have to do anything unlike my prior wireless routers that always needed babysitting to either update or restart the things.

 

[jpn]

products that help apple get to the top do not always keep apple at the top.

apple has been very good at dropping products out of its range proactively to concentrate its capability on newer ones.

this pause in apple's marketing cycle reflects more on the consumer market not being ready for newer products, and, newer technologies not ready for more mass market adoption yet.

in the 600+ posts to this thread there has not been a consensus as which alternative wifi router is best. eero for design, synology time machine compliance, linksys for speed, google for simplicity. the router as a category of itself is simply not interesting for apple.

but, next gen capability is important.
home pod extensions, mainly through integration as speakers, airplay technology, home controls, siri, etc this is where apple can create the next eco system.

also, it could very well be that just as apple dropped the parallel interface for printing, and dropped the floppy drive, and dropped the CD drive, etc, it could be that the next thing is really a SIM connected MacBook that doesn't need WiFi.
more and more directly connected devices to an ISP is a reality. maybe apple will do the unthinkable again and drop WiFi out of MacBooks.
incredible as it might seem to people reading this, when it dropped the parallel interface and the CD drive etc it was just as unthinkable at the time.

think different.

 

[LV426]

How can you blame a manufacturer if an admin or user doesn't change the default password?

Where are these stories regarding consumer routers?

Well, here is one, for starters.

 

[lec0rsaire]

It's a bit rubbish but it's hard to compete with the prevalence of free routers that ISPs routinely supply now. Although they're nowhere near the quality of an airport, they are, for the most part reliable enough for most people. Thus third party routers have become even more of a niche product.

At least Apple will still be issuing security updates for the time being but I'd much rather they carried on selling the product.

Yeah, most people are using the ISP gateways. I’ve always liked to own my stuff though and the stuff you can buy is much better than what the give you. I pair the 5th gen TC with an SB6183 which is a fantastic modem. I get 118/12 Mbps from my 100/10 connection with it so I get exactly what I pay for. Using 5 GHz there’s no need for me to use a wired connection for anything. The PS4 is throttled because of PSN and I don’t see much difference between wired and wireless to justify an ugly cable running across the floor.

Unfortunately since TWC is no more and Spectrum includes the gateway for “free” with the package, I no longer save on rental fees. Still I prefer choosing what modem and router I want instead of taking whatever garbage they have on hand. I wish we could buy our own STBs like Europe. Perpetually paying rental fees for a terrible DVR is ridiculous. I can’t even expand storage or transfer my recordings to my Mac. It would be awesome if I could preserve lots of recordings that mean a lot to me like Germany’s 7-1 game against Brazil and the final against Argentina along with 3 of Federer’s grand slam final matches. As soon as the box fails it’s all gone for good except for low quality highlight videos on YouTube.

 

[Hedwigg]

And I'll also have to disagree. The Asus RT-AC86U is a powerhouse of a router. Of course I am not the typical user. You flash it with Merlin-WRT and you're set. I can run my whole network on VPN through the router and have no OpenVPN bottlenecks (over 100Mbps). Which is impressive for a consumer grade router. It also has time capsule capability if you're into that. Works excellent with all my wireless/wired devices and has never crashed. My Airport crashed once or twice a week and seemed way underpowered.

Open source routers are the way to go..

Yeah, maybe it was a bad Merlin package that I installed, because I did that right out of the box. As a result of whatever it was, I'll never use another ASUS product again.

 

[nofunsir]

I'm sure as hell not replacing them with a HomePod... ever.

This -- that is, trying to force you to switch to the abomination that is iAppleMusicHomePod™©® -- is precisely why they've done this.

This was started years ago when we all wondered why they pulled the engineers off the AirPort line.

 

[pubwvj]

"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."

Big Mistake.

Consumers need the supporting hardware and software. Apple made excellent routers that were easy to setup and use.

 

[iamthedudeman]

"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."

Big Mistake.

Consumers need the supporting hardware and software. Apple made excellent routers that were easy to setup and use.

Just goes to show Apple does not care about the user experience. Just profit. Even if they break even a airport router works best with a Mac. Its all about the user. The customer, if happy will keep coming back. Jobs is rolling in his grave. He chose the wrong person twice. Sad.

 

[loby]

It try to be optimistic. Apple just created a business opportunity for others. Maybe this encourages router oems to properly implement time machine via smb. And there are still plenty of old sound system laying around that could be easily upgraded with an airplay 2 compatible device (airport express style).

I can’t be optimistic on this one. They are getting out of the home and business networking including killing Server.

They are pushing everyone to the cloud...
[doublepost=1524870973][/doublepost]

Ha! The Internet’s biggest successes were built by people who are now in their 40s and 50s.

Late (maybe 40’s). 50’s and up.

 

[X38]

Stupid decision. Airport is a great part of the Apple ecosystem.

 

[redheeler]

The TC is really 2 things in one for me, backs up my Mac mini will ease and peace of mind and provides me with great wireless reception.

Apple's logic: You can't use it to back up iOS devices, so what's the point? It's not like we sell anything else worthwhile.

But seriously, Mac mini will probably be the next product to go...

 

[Abazigal]

Wow - an iPad, pencil, and a watch. HomePod is late to the party and viewed as overpriced and not selling well. Do you even know what financial engineering is? Tons on money in the bank and they don't how to use it so they buy back stock (a return OF investment, not a return ON investment). The market speaks - down another $2.00 as I type this - gone negative for the year. No confidence in future earnings due to Cook's lack of MEANINGFUL product development. How is Apple looking right now for the first trillion dollar company? They are headed in the wrong direction.

In 2016, I bought an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch and AirPods. Today, I am still using them every day, and getting a ton of mileage out of them. As a teacher, I use my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to teach in the classroom. My airpods is the only pair of headphones I use to consume music these days. The Apple Watch is just the best smartwatch ever.

You know what the ironic thing is? My MBA sits in my backpack for most part. I start it up maybe 1-2 times a week for stuff, maybe even less now that I have managed to migrate yet another workflow (preparing a blog article for morning talks) to my iPad. Conversely, my iPad is having problems lasting through the day without charging. That's how extensively I use my iPad and how little I use my Mac on typical days.

So for every user here who feels slighted at Apple supposedly having neglected the Mac, there are easily many other users who have genuinely benefited from Apple's new product direction. I am one of them.

And I think it's comments like this which show just how out of touch the tech community is around here. The posters here are generally not finance people, so of course they would baulk at the idea of Apple using their formidable cash hoard to buy back stock instead of channeling it towards more R&D, but that doesn't mean what Apple is doing here doesn't make sense.

https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2018/4/26/making-the-case-for-doubling-apples-share-buyback-pace

In short, Apple is generating more spare cash than they can earn, and the only logical way to spend it all without distorting the market is on share buybacks. And again, where do you think their cash comes from, if not from selling great products that people want to buy?

Apple is looking great for the first trillion-dollar company, and they will continue to do just fine. Even if it means giving up on niche products like the Mac Mini and the Airport Express. Or perhaps, precisely because Apple is willing to give up on legacy desktop products such as this so they can focus on the future of computing - such as wearable technology.

Onwards, Apple!!! All the way to the top!!!

 

[cmaier]

Old Mac and TC/AEBS are the only real ways to do it. You can try a NAS that supposedly supports it, but really there's no standard for Time Machine, and they could stop working with later versions of macOS. Sure, you can take the risk, but Apple really should be better about this.

That's nonsense. Synology has supported Time Machine flawlessly for years. It's not going to suddenly stop working.