Discontinued AirPort Extreme and 2TB Time Capsule Finally Disappear From Apple Online Store

[BigBoy2018]

R.I.P., best (most stable) routers on the planet...

Disagree. New modern day mesh routers like the Netgear Orbi are rock solid and WAY better than the old Airports. Frankly I'm amazed Apple sold out of them at all, since no one in their right minds should be buying and Apple Airport in the modern day. Just my opinion.

 

[Klososky]

Super sad. I bought Google WiFi to replace my Airport setup and was really disappointed in the speed and stability.

 

[Icaras]

How to deal with loss?

 

[bbednarz]

Very sad, maybe they'll release a mesh networking system in the future. Seems like getting an Eero or Orbi is the way to go these days. The Orbi is technically better (on paper), but it's just too ugly for me so I'll be going with Eero.

https://eero.com/
http://www.ca.netgear.com/orbi/

You wont be disappointed with the Eero I imagine. It has been completely solid since I put it in back in April. Super easy install and it just works.

 

[Westside guy]

The AirPort stuff just isn't keeping up with the feature sets of other devices. Got a Ubiquity https://amplifi.com setup and it was as easy or maybe easier to setup than the old AirPort

Yeah, it's hard to keep up when you don't update your product for 6-8 years...

 

[Asarien]

Apple watch bands.

Dang. It stings because it's true.

 

[Bacillus]

Yes, Apple showed them the light, and now router manufacturers are finally delivering systems that are user-friendly. I set up an ASUS router five years ago and it really impressed me how effortless it was.
This day has been coming for a while. One day, Apple may see another area of technology that needs fixing and step in. But until then, routers is not that area.

Well, wireless charging mats must be a candidate category then.
Or iTunes replacements, DarkMode for iOS, text selection tools that do work, amongst iPhone antenna’s, Pro devices with Pencils for kids, platformwide TouchBars, stuck butterfly keyboards, orphaned 3Dtouch, mice taken from behind, and other halfbaken solutions (for problems that didn’t exist) that need fixing

 

[ZMacintosh]

I guess it used to make sense Apple made appliances to their devices. Time Capsules complimented the Mac, AirPort Express was a great utility device for networking and an added bonus of streaming audio.

Does this mean they will step up their iCloud game more? maybe not cloud time machine but at least more than a measly 5GB and provide a better experience.

HomePod and AppleTV are not bad, but they need to realize they're not the only players in the game and these devices need to be agile.

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

Why are they ending this popular product?
Don't Apple enjoy making money?

1. Popular by whose standards? Many people posting here liked them, but that does not mean they sold a bunch of them.
2. They do enjoy making money. It's a good thing too, because even without the Airport product line, they still make more money than anybody else.

 

[chanerz]

I still have mine. Best router ever.

 

[tromboneaholic]

Pro devices with Pencils for kids

The Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro is not for kids. The reason I bought my first Mac was for Photoshop.

 

[joueboy]

I can safely assume since Apple is been selling this up to this year, that they should continue support the firmware for at least for the next five years. Because I have no plans to buy a new router sometime for the next 5 years unless there's a significant change in technology that I got to have, which I don't think there is.

 

[Bacillus]

The Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro is not for kids. The reason I bought my first Mac was for Photoshop.

I don’t know your age, but this arguing makes for guesswork of the simpler kind

 

[Flojomojo]

Super sad. I bought Google WiFi to replace my Airport setup and was really disappointed in the speed and stability.

Why did you replace your Airport stuff? Was it just because of the pending drop in support? Or was it broken?

My Time Capsule is working fine, good speed and coverage, so I don't intend on replacing it unless it stops working.

 

[Freida]

airport extreme was by far the best router i've ever had! Really don't understand why Apple is doing this. Such a shame

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

How to deal with loss?

I dealt with the "loss" by getting an eero starter set. I haven't missed my Airport setup.

I still use my Time Capsule for Time Machine backups. I just have it connected to the eero base station via ethernet. Works great.

 

[Asarien]

A huge failure on behalf of the modern router companies whose devices are indeed better than Apple's own, is that their designs still aren't simple and elegant. All feature rows of obnoxious LEDs and LCDs. None have come to realize Apple's one, small indicator light is all that's needed.

 

[Aston441]

Bought google mesh with a frown on my face

I bought Google Mesh available and it makes me grin all the time. Blows my mind how good it is. After messing with POS WiFi since 1999 (not a typo), for the first time ever I'm experiencing PERFECT WiFi.

 

[groadyho]

Disagree. New modern day mesh routers like the Netgear Orbi are rock solid and WAY better than the old Airports. Frankly I'm amazed Apple sold out of them at all, since no one in their right minds should be buying and Apple Airport in the modern day. Just my opinion.

We have the AC3000, it's great. I even get a great signal in the basement now.

 

[ck2875]

A huge failure on behalf of the modern router companies whose devices are indeed better than Apple's own, is that their designs still aren't simple and elegant. All feature rows of obnoxious LEDs and LCDs. None have come to realize Apple's one, small indicator light is all that's needed.

Eero says, hello.

 

[trip1ex]

Sad. I liked their routers. Reliable, simple, looked good. I never cared for having a thousand features that I never use anyway.

 

[Velin]

Apple AirPort Extreme has been a fantastic router. It never — and I mean never — fails. One of the most rock solid and dependable Apple products I own. Really wish Cook would continue the division with improved routers that extend reach with plug-and-play PoE extenders, which I find vastly superior to these “mesh” or “wireless backhaul” systems.

 

[Aston441]

My AirPort Extreme is working great, I love the parental WiFi controls on it. Only thing is it’s range and strength. Which newer device offers same WiFi controls with better whole home coverage?

Google Mesh.

 

[Soba]

I bought the 2nd-gen Airport base station in late 2001 (when I bought my first Mac—an iBook G3) and I swore by the entire Airport line for years as the most stable, reliable, and easy to use WiFi stations you could buy. The quality of these was off the scale compared to the competition.

But that changed in the last 5 years or so. Apple did not keep up with the competition's feature set and Airport Utility became very buggy. I would get repeated random errors when trying to set up base stations and the software does not even tell you what happened or why. Apple also dropped the Windows-based Airport Utility some years back, which I viewed as a mistake.

I see this as emblematic of many of Apple's best products—once great, then neglected, and finally no longer with us. Aperture, XGrid, now Airport, and I'm left to wonder what's next.

So long, Airport. A pity you met such an end.

 

[justperry]

"Apple's AirPort base stations provided some unique benefits that are not available through third-party options like built-in Time Machine backup support in the Time Capsule"

My Asus Wi-Fi router actually supports remote time machine to a hard drive plugged into it.

Read!
Provided, not provides, for instance, look at the airport express some 10 or more years ago, you could stream to it to play music on a connected amplifier.
No one had that at that time.