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Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup [Updated]

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bigpoppamac31 said:
Hmm okay thanks. I'll check it out. The AmpliFi is just over $200 CAD. Kinda pricy. I bought my AirPort Extreme (latest gen) used for under $150.
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Technology has improved quite a bit since AirPort Extreme. Probably worth the upgrade if you use WiFi a lot and have anything other than a small apartment.
 
cmaier said:
Technology has improved quite a bit since AirPort Extreme. Probably worth the upgrade if you use WiFi a lot and have anything other than a small apartment.
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I live in a three bedroom apartment which is very linear in layout. My middle sized bedroom which is my theatre room is at the one end and the living room where the router is located is at the other end.
 
bigpoppamac31 said:
I live in a three bedroom apartment which is very linear in layout. My middle sized bedroom which is my theatre room is at the one end and the living room where the router is located is at the other end.
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Then you probably would be fine with any modern router from netgear, for example.
 
I've tried to make it through most of the constructive posts in this thread. I'm also an AE/TC lover and have had several iterations, currently an 802.11ac Airport Time Capsule. I'm definitely on the "maybe buy a backup or two" boat, but I also don't like the idea of having deprecated hardware around.

I'd be interested in thoughts from others.

I had the Synology 2600, highly touted as it is, but went back to the TC for simplicity's sake (and that it didn't accomplish anything for me that the TC didn't, but that's my use case). I do utilize Time Machine with an encrypted backup to the Time Capsule via 802.11ac as one of my backups. I'm aware that TM can be done via (some) non-Apple hardware.

I've seen the posts in this thread about the Velop and the Eero, though I've never tried mesh networking devices and am unsure if they'd be of measurable benefit to me.

I have a 100 Mbps cable connection in a two-story house. I occasionally stream 4K, frequently stream HD otherwise, and occasionally have multiple devices streaming with no hiccups to this point. In-network, I can see connection speeds anywhere from capped at ~1.3 Gbps right adjacent the TC to ~400-500 Mbps for 5 GHz -ac connected devices in adjacent rooms with fall-off down to the 100-200 Mbps range for more distant devices. I have a media setup far from the TC which is often down to that 100-200 Mbps range, but I've not noticed any real-life issues there thus far.

All that said -- I'm torn between (a) liking the latest and greatest in my "toys" as tech is a hobby of mine, but (b) being a big proponent of my AirPort TC. I feel like I should probably just go for the Eero or Velop or other such modern setup, but are the benefits really there given the above? I'd be losing out on familiarity and ability to use Time Machine natively to the TC, but other than that, I don't know.
 
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jonblatho said:
Do people seriously believe AirPort “got [Apple] to the top”?
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No, but vertical integration is what kept a lot of Apple's diehard supporters in line. You didn't have to research other products. You knew if you bought from Apple, all your crap was going to work together nicely. It makes business sense to discontinue development in low-yield product lines, but if Apple continues to do that, they should cut their computer business too. The lion's share of Apple's revenue/profits come from the iPhone/iPad, and it's been like that for the greater part of the past decade.

For the past 10 yrs or so, we've been an iPhone only household because it played nice with our Macs. But my Macs are long overdue for an upgrade, and for me, Apple has missed the mark on their laptops and desktops for the past 5 years. I'm limping along on my legacy hardware, but if I am forced to go back to Windows so that I can have a compelling desktop/laptop, I'll give serious consideration to Android because my last experience with iTunes on Windows was atrocious.
 
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JPack said:
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.
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There might be as good APs out there - but have you ever tried to set up a printer or speaker on a accespoint extention - or even just extend a network with some other brand - perhaps i have just not yet found the right one - but apple airport or airport Extreme have always worked flawsley for me - have always been easy to set up, extend or replace.

To be honest what i liked most about the Apple ecosystem was the ecosystem - now ... pieces of it is falling away.

first they discontinued the mac pro (yes there were the can shaped one, and the imac but not a real pro machine like the old one where you could replace parts)

now the easynes of the airport is gone - and airplay to my speakers around the house - well i guess i have to use chromecast ( not that i want to imo its slower and not stable enough).

i think ill stock up 2 or 3 of them... so i have a replacement or 2 for the coming 6 years.
 
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The Airport Extreme may have been the fastest router but it's always been one of the most reliable.

Unfortunately I had to back out the latest (and probably last) firmware update because it causes my AE to periodically require a remote reset. It appears to be hung and doesn't work even though it's showing green for connecting to my cable modem.
 
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even though it is a shame it makes sense.
Wifi the way we know it will disappear, 5G and versions after that will take over.
All iDevices will have an Esim in the future and be online always or connect via each other or a hub.

No point in developing/investing in a new router that has a better replacement within 3 years.
 
theluggage said:
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.
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Yeah I know - that's definitely within the realms of possibility. There is no way Apple would let the iOS eco system die out. I'm sure they could even develop XCode for iOS, and a dev kit that hooks up to the iPad Pro if they really wanted to. They could then ditch MacOS.

But then again... It's MacOS and the rest of the Apple eco system that got me using iOS devices in the first place. If they got rid of MacOS, I'd quite happily wave goodbye to iOS.
 
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obiwan said:
But then again... It's MacOS and the rest of the Apple eco system that got me using iOS devices in the first place. If they got rid of MacOS, I'd quite happily wave goodbye to iOS.
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Wasn't really saying that it was a likely scenario, just that iOS development wasn't likely to be a big sticking point if Apple did decide to drop the Mac.

I think the real question is whether Mac and MacOS can survive if the pro/enthusiast/power-user community is driven away by the lack of versatile, powerful desktops and mobile workstations. I don't think the loss of Airport is going to affect that... What would do that is a Mac Pro designed in an echo-chamber (the solution is a small, sealed CPU in a sexy box with lots of Thunderbolt - now, what was the problem? P.s. have you seen the great things you can do with iPad in a pro workflow?) and a range of MacBook Pros that has divided the existing customer base into lovers and haters.
 
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I just read an article over at 9 to 5 Mac and Apple released a statement of what buyers should be looking for when purchasing a new wireless router since they are discontinuing there brand. What the heck? Now Apple is telling us to go to other makers of routers and what features we should be looking for, how weird is that? Will they soon be telling us to buy a Dell or HP product too? This is NOT good.
 
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bladerunner2000 said:
Why is Eero so expensive?
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To me it’s the most Apple-esk option out there for mesh. They work well, look like something Apple would make, and have a really robust software package called eero plus. They update firmware regularly too. I think it’s reasonable because you don’t buy access points all the time.
 
ck2875 said:
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
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+1 for the Ubiquiti UniFi

Note: These are business/Enterprise class access points so they do not have a web console built in that many people are used to. You will need to install the control software on your local machine which then talks to the access point.
 
CerebralX said:
It's a pity. They were very decent pieces of hardware.
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I love my Time Capsule. So easy to use compared to other routers and external HDDs.
Apple should not focus solely on money / margin. But hey, that is what it has become to nowadays. :(
[doublepost=1525095914][/doublepost]So time machine will also stop working? This was the best back-up software ever.
 
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Went with the Linksys VELOP this weekend, and am impressed. Nice looking, easy setup, and speedwise, blows my TC away. My Comcast download speeds are around 180Mbps. With AE/TC I was getting that when sitting right next to the router. go into any other room in the house and it was dropping to 20Mbps. On just 2 nodes of VELOP I'm getting 175-180 Mbps throughout the entire house.

Like many of you I'm not surprised at Apple for making the call. What ticks me off at Apple is, what have they been doing this whole time? They are so far behind, people start looking for alternatives, sales go down, so they give up. But what were they doing to let themselves get so far behind. Why haven't they been investing in their own Mesh product? Same thing happened with Aperture... they got so far behind Lightroom it only made sense to shut it down, but why did they let it get that far behind. What are they doing with their resources? They've said in the past that they're not a big company with unlimited resources... okay, then why did you need a new "space ship" campus for another 12,000 people? I think they put all their designers and engineers on that stupid building and forgot about everything else. What other product manufacturer goes as long as Apple has without refreshing their lineup? Mac Mini? MacBook Air? How many other things?

While I'm on a lunchtime rant - where is the consistency out of Apple? lightening ports on iphones, but usb-c on macbook pro (cause it's a pro machine) but... imac pro is a pro machine, but it has all the other ports too. I'm not trying o start another port war. My question is solely around consistency and strategy, or lack thereof.

I'm done...frustrated Apple guy.
 
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Cook was able to throw away the seamless integration which made Apple the N.1 company in the world

can someone be more obtuse then that ?
 
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Hedwigg said:
Just out of curiosity, why no Google Wifi?
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I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't want Google WiFi because Google is kinda like having a friend that can be a cool guy that's fun to hang out with, but he's always going through your stuff and sharing everything you've ever told him to all your other friends, all under the guise of 'helping' you. And even if he's never completely screwed you over, it always feels clear that he always puts his own interests above yours, creating a constant trust issue.

We've all known people like that, right? He's not really a bad guy but is completely oblivious as to why some people just don't like hanging out with him.
 
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bladerunner2000 said:
The watch is absolutely useless without an iPhone... a device that you need next to the watch does everything the watch does and then some (except for that heart rate monitor). So what's the point of having it?
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It's totally reasonable to say the product is not for you. But to call it hot garbage is disingenuous at best. It is a successful product for Apple.


For me, I like having my notifications on my wrist. I can check my calendar, see who is calling, check my emails and texts - even if I'm in a conference room across the office and my phone is charging at my desk. I feel less compelled to always have my phone right next to me, and as a result spend less time at home aimlessly browsing. Additionally, it's a great fitness companion.
 
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ck2875 said:
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
Click to expand...

Eero 100%. Netgear and ASUS just don't support their products. Good luck with a firmware update a year after release. Both companies just let the "known issues" pile up for basically every product they make.

Eero is really light on features though, so be prepared for that. It's definitely one of those products that "just works", but there's no much in terms of customizability, so you may want a separate router between you and the primary AP.
 
cmaier said:
You can use smb. About a year ago they updated DSM to allow that. I turned off afp on both my Synology boxes.
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Wonder what kind of solution they use to pull that off, because for instance, you cannot use Time Machine with an SMB share from Windows. Seems crazy outdated to me because even if one does not primarily use Windows, there are a lot of Windows shares out there from servers and desktops.
 
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