Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup [Updated]

[Naaaaak]

> Product neglected for years
> Canceled without care

How many years until we see headlines of:

Apple Officially Discontinues Mac Mini
Apple Officially Discontinues Mac Pro
Apple Officially Discontinues MacBook Air
Apple Officially Discontinues macOS

 

[dan110]

Mac and iOS go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you have a Mac, it's far more cumbersome to have an Android and iOS... iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, iCloud apps like Notes\Pages, etc... none of that is an even similar experience on Android for a Mac user. You're seriously mentioning airpods and homepod as being sticky? Those are such secondary products to iPad\iPhone\Mac
[doublepost=1524944703][/doublepost]

I think Mac slipping from #4 to #7 shouts it loud and clear.

I think iPhone X sales what they are shouts it loud and clear.

Sadly I feel like the new windows in Apple Park (Apple's new Campus) may be soundproof.

You do know that i was agreeing with you, right?
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I am old to enough to have seen the resurgence, and airports, extremes and time capsules were never very popular. General public agreed that they were overpriced Apple branded products that did the same thing as products 1/2 the price.
Think back to time capsule reviews for example - they rarely exceeded 3/5 stars and even among us Apple people, took too long to come with a HDD large enough to suit our needs.
Airports were better, but once the extreme came along, airport (sans “extreme”) quality went out the window.
I’m not knocking the products - I absolutely loved my TC, but these products, realistically, probably moved like the HomePod is “moving” today.
Unless Apple calls such a slow-moving product a “hobby,” (which under Cook, they just simply don’t have time for such fun any longer), it willn’t be around for long.

Michael Simon captures my sentiment in this beautiful article on the Airport's demise and Apple's myopia.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Just bought and installed our first HomeKit gear this week. Can’t tell you how pissed I am that Apple is not taking the lead in personal network security.

Who gives a flip if these devices don’t earn 40% profit, and my network and it’s access to the internet depend on a good router. So far, Apple has had but a fraction of the exploits that have plagued the well known router brands. (Also, I like to think Apple might also stand a better chance of not shopping a router filled with silly features that weaken security.)

 

[bladerunner2000]

Just more signs that the Mac and home computer equipment in general is slowly being phased out of existence by Apple who clearly thinks that iPads and iPhones are the only real future.... That lame trashcan Mac Pro pretty much told me all I needed to know a few years ago. It's a shame such a great OS has to be hampered by substandard computer hardware offerings for so long now.

Do like the rest of us and build yourself a hackintosh. Not only will you get a proper GPU, a solid CPU that will run circles around Apple's current lineup you'll end up paying like a third of the price.

I built mine a few years back and once I got everything working I was dumbfounded at how much better my system was than any other Mac I've ever owned; cheap, silent, upgradeable, serious GPU, easy to replace parts, plenty of expansion, etc.

 

[J___o___h___n]

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen such a reaction on the MacRumors comments feed

These will be truly missed products - I hope Apple revised them in the future.

We want fast, reliable and secure - something Apple could make in its sleep.

 

[Rojaaemon]

Rats! I've been waiting to buy the never produced new 2014 model since 2013.

Now, I guess I'll wait forever for Apple to drop the price of this 5 year old discontinued product.

 

[Bacillus]

While I understand everyone’s annoyance over Apple neglecting yet another product which they have come to love and rely on, I think much of the criticism here is unjustified.
For one, people are not buying iPhones and iPads because they are using an AirPort router in their house. It's a silly assertion. In addition, needing to buy a third-party wireless router is not going to lower the value found with the broad Apple ecosystem that includes smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, desktops, and the software/services that combines it all.
Apple likely made the decision that there just wasn’t any point to continue dedicating resources and attention to take on chipmakers like Broadcom in order to come out with some kind of differentiated router. Instead, it would make more sense to just remove the features from AirPort routers that users do want, like wireless music playback, and put the functionality into new kinds of Apple device.
For example, we have the homepod, which handles airplay. Apple TV handles HomeKit. We will likely see other products in the future which replicate any other desired functionality of the airport routers.
Overall, I think this is a good move by Apple. I don’t think this decision is being driven by money. Instead, management is simply reallocating precious resources on products that can utilize Apple hardware, software, and services to produce an experience that improves users lives.
Apple management is neither being clueless nor reckless here.

So you consider it a wise strategy to send loyal users off with advise for competing routers, and then after they’ve decided to jump ship, lure them back with (yet unannounced, if ever appearing) replacement.
Great strategy - somewhat like Mac Pro/Mini
And certainly not driven by money, but by mental sloth disorder of the more lethal kind, businesswise

 

[MacHiavelli]

No. Just no.

People aren't going to suddenly stop buying iPhones or iPads just because their wifi signal isn't being piped out of an Apple router. Nor does a user start with an airport express, then suddenly decide to starting buying Apple products to connect them to. Neither will my iMac stop working just because it's connected to an Asus router.

Just as for the majority of users, the gateway into the Apple ecosystem is the iPhone, not the Mac.

You people are hyping up the importance and the significance of the airport express, when in reality, it's just a nice little accessory, and that's all it is.

People buy iPhones and iPads today because tech-savvy Mac users evangelised about Apple products before the iPhone even existed.

Look at the product line today with AE/TC cancelled, MacPro and Mac Mini both outdated, MBA looking like a dinosaur, MBPs looking very middling, a lot of macOS apps feeling tired and neglected, the possible switch to ARM, etc, and it is very hard for tech-savvy Mac users to recommend Apple products with the fervour that they did five or ten years ago. Lose those tech-savvy Mac users and Apple will suffer, because they are the people who tell others what they should be buying.

I know plenty of people today who use iPhones and iPads because they have asked me what they should buy. Lose me and lose people like me, and those iPhone and iPad buyers will haemorrhage away. Apple is already bleeding, but if you can't see that, you can't see it.

The AE/TC line is critical to people like me. I tell friends and family to buy everything from Apple, knowing that the systems will work. If you take away the AE/TC line and force me to look at other networking solutions, I might as well also look at other computers, phones, and tablets. I understand what you're saying, but it is a fantasy position.

Apple would tell you to replace the Time Capsule by purchasing more iCloud storage.

And to upload to iCloud, people want a secure router that just works. If that has gone, iCloud can go too.

And iCloud doesn't offer multi-point restores.

 

[VictorTango777]

To be fair, some of the "complete ecosystem" concepts date from the good old bad old days when the Mac couldn't use third-party products designed for PCs. Different connectors, different network protocols...

The modern Mac is far easier to connect up to "industry standard" systems than in the past - because, although it may not feel like it, things like the Internet, USB, mobiles and "Bring your own device" policies have made the meaning of "industry standard" less of a euphemism for "current best-selling proprietary kludge" than it used to be.

Still not entirely compatible with "industry standard" connections. For example:

Where is support for DisplayPort MST in Mac OS so we can daisy chain DisplayPort monitors or use DisplayPort MST hubs? Apple doesn't make monitors anymore. Apple claims to support DisplayPort, why withhold full support for MST?

Where is support for iSCSI in Mac OS to connect to those third party NAS devices that people here are referring to? Apple doesn't make Fibre Channel Xserve RAID anymore, why withhold support for iSCSI?

Why does the "Finder" return no results when searching shared folders on a Windows Server? Mac OS Server is clearly dying, why make Mac OS continue to suck balls in Finder search?

Unfortunately, there are still a number of Mac users who try to justify these incompatibilities by basically saying "If Apple doesn't have it, nobody needs it" or "Apple didn't specifically say it would work", making a mockery of having industry standards in the first place.

 

[Bacillus]

Still not entirely compatible with "industry standard" connections. For example
Where is support for DisplayPort MST in Mac OS so we can daisy chain DisplayPort monitors or use DisplayPort MST hubs? Apple doesn't make monitors anymore. Apple claims to support DisplayPort, why withhold full support for MST?
Where is support for iSCSI in Mac OS to connect to those third party NAS devices that people here are referring to? Apple doesn't make Fibre Channel Xserve RAID anymore, why withhold support for iSCSI?
Why does the "Finder" return no results when searching shared folders on a Windows Server? Mac OS Server is clearly dying, why make Mac OS continue to suck balls in Finder search?
Unfortunately, there are still a number of Mac users who try to justify these incompatibilities by basically saying "If Apple doesn't have it, nobody needs it" or "Apple didn't specifically say it would work", making a mockery of having industry standards in the first place.

I agree with a minor addition: Apple used to have its own “above avge” standards/closed solutions, like their own Time Machine NAS, which gave them a reason not to follow standards.
But now it discontinued or lamented many of those - making your objections valid.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

There used to be a time where I was excited about the next Mac, the next release of macOS and new peripherals. Apple has, however, become the iPad and iPhone company. I can't blame them, that's where the money is. But the whole reason I'm invested in this ecosystem is of how well everything works together. How much of that ecosystem will be left 10 years from now?

 

[theluggage]

Still not entirely compatible with "industry standard" connections.

Oh, there are absolutely some serious gaps, but at least these days Macs can use DisplayPort, connect to PC fileshares etc.

I shudder to think how long spotlight would take to index a windows share... Search should really be part of the file sharing protocol, with indexes stored on the server.

 

[Bacillus]

> Product neglected for years
> Canceled without care
How many years until we see headlines of:

Apple Officially Discontinues Mac Mini
Apple Officially Discontinues Mac Pro
Apple Officially Discontinues MacBook Air
Apple Officially Discontinues macOS

OMG don’t say this.
Stunning courage may be ahead as an alternative to starvation.
I am producing enough tears to wash the whole generation of Cookettes from office...

 

[Abazigal]

There used to be a time where I was excited about the next Mac, the next release of macOS and new peripherals. Apple has, however, become the iPad and iPhone company. I can't blame them, that's where the money is. But the whole reason I'm invested in this ecosystem is of how well everything works together. How much of that ecosystem will be left 10 years from now?

Well, Apple is clearly moving on to wearables, so the Apple ecosystem will likely look very different from today. I am imagining a whole line of wearable technology connected wirelessly to your Apple Watch, which form the brains of this entire setup. AR glasses, AirPods, connected clothing even? iPhone's likely still around, maybe with a PC-esque refresh cycle to boot.

The iPad will have become the PC of choice for the general masses.

I don't know where that will leave the Mac though. Apps clearly aren't a priority when it comes to wearables, but I guess we should still have the MacBook Pro, iMac (pro) and (maybe) Mac Pro lying around. Who knows, they might even run some form of iOS.

In short, expect something like 90% iOS and 10% macOS (and I am being quite generous with the macOS market share).

 

[VictorTango777]

ROI is also the reason we see little innovation when it comes to iPod, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, Apple TV, etc. Apple is following the money and investing in the products with amazing ROI. Their shareholders expect this and it’s why they are very successful.

Is being a shareholder entirely the same as being a customer? How much of Apple's stock is held by investment companies that don't even use Macs, so they don't care what happens to the Mac?

 

[goslowjoe]

How much of Apple's stock is held by investment companies that don't even use Macs?

True. I thought about the same thing - for most of the investors it's only about the money they get and nothing else. They don't care about bugs in software, peeling screens or iffy face recognition, or on the flip side of the coin if the products actually work extremely well and has an immense following. For them there is probably no brand loyalty like we have as actual owners and users of the products.

 

[jscooper22]

We tried these in our office a few years ago and they were awful. Radius authentication barely worked and they needed to be rebooted almost daily just to allow a couple dozen mbps to connect. Apple is getting out of the Business business so it's no surprise. I just wish they could break up face to face instead of stringing us along for years, giving lip service to markets and technologies they clearly no longer have an interest in before "officially" dumping them.

 

[obiwan]

> Product neglected for years
> Canceled without care

How many years until we see headlines of:

Apple Officially Discontinues Mac Mini
Apple Officially Discontinues Mac Pro
Apple Officially Discontinues MacBook Air
Apple Officially Discontinues macOS

A couple of years ago, I would have said this was alarmist thinking - but now, I'm not so sure.

Of course, without macOS there would be no iOS as how would people develop apps for the platform?

 

[belvdr]

Where is support for iSCSI in Mac OS to connect to those third party NAS devices that people here are referring to? Apple doesn't make Fibre Channel Xserve RAID anymore, why withhold support for iSCSI?

Minor correction to this: if it is a NAS, then you use something like SMB / CIFS or NFS to access it. You’re talking about a SAN or something else providing block based storage.

 

[Abazigal]

A couple of years ago, I would have said this was alarmist thinking - but now, I'm not so sure.

Of course, without macOS there would be no iOS as how would people develop apps for the platform?

I think Apple will still leave a couple of Mac models around for tasks such as video editing and app development. My guess is MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro. But that's not going to be where all the fun is, so updates will likely be pretty slow and they will essentially be in what we call "maintenance mode".

 

[MrGuder]

There used to be a time where I was excited about the next Mac, the next release of macOS and new peripherals. Apple has, however, become the iPad and iPhone company. I can't blame them, that's where the money is. But the whole reason I'm invested in this ecosystem is of how well everything works together. How much of that ecosystem will be left 10 years from now?

I agree, one would think Apple would want our WHOLE business not to look elsewhere for other products like a router and backup drives. I know people hate to hear this but Apple sits on a boatload of money and it be hooves me that they don't release timely products like they could. It's a crying shame when the Mac Mini (the system that made me ditch Windows) hasn't been updated and the last update was an inferior update. I'm still using my late 2012 Mac mini 2.5 i5 upgraded the ram to 16GB and installed an SSD. It runs as perfect as it did when I bought it. Yet I' like to upgrade at some point to another Mini but I don't think it's ever going to happen.

 

[theluggage]

Of course, without macOS there would be no iOS as how would people develop apps for the platform?

Producing an XCode replacement for Windows or Linux would not be rocket science - certainly not an unfeasibly large or expensive project c.f. the ongoing development of MacOS and Mac.

...and in terms of processing power, there's probably not much to development that an iPad Pro couldn't do, certainly from the POV of anybody who's drunk deeply of the "tablets are the future" Kool-Aid.

 

[magbarn]

Your argument is a perfect example of the thought process that drives companies into the same pen as Yahoo, GE, Myspace, AOL, Kodak, and Sears. That's great that you were impressed all those years ago. In the meantime, how many more Airports did you buy vs phones and other items, and how much shelf space did Apple ultimately waste on unsold units during that span? I also bought and loved my Airport, and replaced it once. In 12 years. That's not a winning hand for Apple, as they have employees who need to get paid during all those years in the middle.

Unlike those other companies, Apple has just a little bit more discretionary income. Heck, I'm pretty sure they spent more R&D budget on an overpriced wireless charging pad in the last several years than all the R&D they've spent on their wireless networking products in the last 5 years. I could understand your argument if the AE/TC were Apple's main cashcows and they continued to throw all their budget at this low profit segment while neglecting to develop newer iphones/ipads. Then that would be stupid.
This hubris is what Tim Cook seems to be reveling in and it's driving many of us oldsters crazy. I have sold for Apple dozens of iphones, ipads, macbooks, imacs, and yes, wireless routers for years as it was all truly plug and play even for my mother in law who's completely ignorant of electronics.

 

[dan110]

Your argument is a perfect example of the thought process that drives companies into the same pen as Yahoo, GE, Myspace, AOL, Kodak, and Sears. That's great that you were impressed all those years ago. In the meantime, how many more Airports did you buy vs phones and other items, and how much shelf space did Apple ultimately waste on unsold units during that span? I also bought and loved my Airport, and replaced it once. In 12 years. That's not a winning hand for Apple, as they have employees who need to get paid during all those years in the middle.

Your argument is flawed in so many ways. I'll keep it brief.

First, people stopped buying the Airport because it's outdated. Had Apple continued to lead in this area, then sales would be competitive. People want a reliable, secure, and most of all easy to use networking device. I'd bet they'd continue to pay a premium for that kind of device if Apple made it.

Next, Apple is giving us the royal lip service on their desire to be competitive in the home automation and IOT arena (see HomeKit). This tech sector is a cybersecurity mess. They're clearly lying to us because they're not putting the resources behind it that we see Google, Amazon, and others are putting behind their products and services. This is validated by Apple's willingness to send us to competitors to provide and secure our networks. (I still can't believe they did this!)

BONUS:

1.) Tim is more concerned about pet projects promoting his political proclivities than being a visionary and leader of Apple Inc.

2.) Apple is NOT listening to their developer community. Their MacPro debacles are well publicized. However, their neglect of XCode and other developer tools have received less coverage. It's a complete mess that appears to be regressing ... not getting better.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

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.

I think its pretty clear from the guys comment that this is just erosion. Small waves undermining a larger cliff.