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

[Bacillus]

Well, I bought my first Mac in 1996 for Photoshop work.
Now the iPad is one of the tools I use for work, along with my Mac.
There are a good number of professional photo editors, photographers, and art directors who are excited about the upcoming release of Adobe Photoshop supporting Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro
Also, the Pencil is used by people in a variety of professions. For example, I personally know a few doctors and lawyers who use the $329 iPad with a Pencil to keep notes on their patients and clients.

I am fully aware of the potential of Photoshop and I wouldn’t underestimate any artists’ potential on iPad. However, for a machine to be a Pro device of any kind, let alone a laptop replacement, it should have better text selection, more precise handling, a richer interface, multiple windowing, full file and print support and have the majority of functions that make MacOS a far richer environment than iOS - a phone OS. A Pro device is something else than an iPhone with a larger screen.
An added pencil and even 20+ magnets don’t change that. Neither does 2 billion of misleading marketing
It is inexcusable how Apple degrades elementary usage definitions, in an attempt to sell the same and more of the same over and over again. As soon as your doctor and lawyer friends start doing more than typing a single elementary letter, and start using truly office-ready device, they will realize what I mean. Excuse me for the “kids” terminology which indeed is a simplification, but I lack those billions for advertisement - which leads to more concise descriptions than Joni might use.

 

[tromboneaholic]

I am fully aware of the potential of Photoshop and I wouldn’t underestimate any artists’ potential on iPad. However, for a machine to be a Pro device of any kind, let alone a laptop replacement, it should have better text selection, more precise handling, a richer interface, multiple windowing, and support the majority of functions that make MacOS a far richer environment than iOS. A Pro device is something else than an iPhone with a larger screen. It is inexcusable how Apple degrading elementary definitions, in an attempt to sell the same and more of the same over and over again. As soon as your friend doctors and lawyers start doing more than typing a singl elementary letter, or start using an office-ready device, they will realize what I mean.

You have pivoted from your original argument to make a different point in an attempt to appear to be "right."

However, Apple already make the device you describe. It's called a MacBook.

Don't complain that a hammer is not a screwdriver...
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Sure, if said router a) supports disk sharing b) uses a recent enough version of Samba for macOS to accept it as a TM target, and has the right options set.

I have a 4 year old Asus that supported it out of the box. If Time Machine over Wi-Fi is important to someone, they have options.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I need to find a good used extreme. Wish Apple didn’t shut this model down.

 

[H2SO4]

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

You ARE joking I know you are. They're good but feature light. Most stable? Wow what a claim.
Have a Draytek which is bullet proof.

 

[voicegy]

Thank goodness I purchased a backup Time Capsule and 3 Express devices months ago. I've had a Time Capsule for years, and 7 Express devices to not only extend the network, but to take advantage of AirPlay. The system has worked nearly flawlessly, and I'm very happy with it - should be able to get another 10 years out of it I hope. Sad to see it all go.

 

[palebluedot]

I bought a new Time Capsule AC last month. I have always found the routers to be rock solid (they run the same OS as the Hubble Space Telescope). I figured that AC will last me until the new wifi spec is fully codified and out in the market, and I can then see what is out there. Granted, I bought it before their terrible Back to My Mac Move, but I still can use it as an amazing NAS. Plus, Apple was sort of doing the buzzword "mesh" networking well before it was a thing. I have several family members who have a Time Capsule + AirPort mesh covering their houses.

Really sad that this product is gone. Was one of those magical Apple ecosystem products that seems to have fallen the way of MagSafe, BTMM, glowing Apples, etc.

 

[tromboneaholic]

You ARE joking I know you are. They're good but feature light. Most stable? Wow what a claim.
Have a Draytek which is bullet proof.

I choose Apple products when I can, but after my first Airport I went with Asus for several reasons. I think Apple was wise to offer routers when they did, but the need for Apple routers just isn't there any more.

 

[kentsydney]

J

That is a very nice feature that I've not seen on other devices.

Yes I had three of the latest expresses which were just updated to support Air Play 2- it works brilliantly too but then they discontinued them. Like taunting us !!! I think part of the reason is that apple want people to buy these expensive homepods rather than being able to have multiroom streaming using the ( far cheaper ) speakers they have already.

I scoured the part of Sydney I live in and brought up 4 more expresses from my local office works and JBhifi.

I stream every room in my house now and boost my wifi signal every where too.

 

[Bacillus]

You have pivoted from your original argument to make a different point in an attempt to appear to be "right."
However, Apple already make the device you describe. It's called a MacBook.
Don't complain that a hammer is not a screwdriver...

I must have gone awry with some screwsdrivers being marketed as (Pro) -hammers

 

[840quadra]

I think back in the day AAPL did the airport series just to help Macs. Sure they undoubtedly made money but back then routers were so bad and didn't play as nice with Macs. It is a very Steve Jobs sort of product. Simple, elegant, exorbitantly priced. It just worked. It simply had nothing left to offer these days.

Just typing that brought images of Steve talking about server grade hard drives. Man I might go on Ebay now....

Exorbitantly priced compared to what?

It was 1999, wireless routers were rare and new technology with Orinoco, lucent, Phillips, and a few others were the only players, and did quite a bit of technology sharing back then. Most devices were near the same price as the airport, or far, far more expensive.

This was 1999, back when most servers were still NT 4.0, and ZIP drives were still super popular.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

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

I use to think that until I got an Ubiquiti set up. Far better than anything Apple made IMO.

 

[FaustsHausUK]

I remember the site with the fake Time Capsule obits. My OG lasted two years longer than the site (it still works, I just don’t use it).

I’ve been using the most recent Airport Extreme and love it. I own multiple wireless devices from Sony, HP, Apple, Nintendo, Microsoft, Fender and others; my Comcast router wouldn’t connect to half of them, the AE worked like a champ.

 

[justperry]

You ARE joking I know you are. They're good but feature light. Most stable? Wow what a claim.
Have a Draytek which is bullet proof.

Had/have one (Draytek) from my ISP, it's awful, unstable, non standard configuring amongst other problems, it's a fiber Modem/router which I now switched off/bypassed, my fiber goes directly in my Unifi 8-150W, works like a charm and stable, have one more Unifi switch connected to it, a Unifi AUP AC , a Unifi USG and a Cloud Key.

 

[palebluedot]

You ARE joking I know you are. They're good but feature light. Most stable? Wow what a claim.
Have a Draytek which is bullet proof.

I agree with him. It runs the same OS as Hubble. It was rock solid. It was a revolution at the time it came out compared to running Tomato on your Linksys.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

May

Exorbitantly priced compared to what?

It was 1999, wireless routers were rare and new technology with Orinoco, lucent, Phillips, and a few others were the only players, and did quite a bit of technology sharing back then. Most devices were near the same price as the airport, or far, far more expensive.

This was 1999, back when most servers were still NT 4.0, and ZIP drives were still super popular.

Maybe I had that impression because I lived in Poland back in those days and they were very expensive there indeed. I don't even remember what they were but I do remember I chose a Belkin because it was so much cheaper. YMMV

 

[840quadra]

May


Maybe I had that impression because I lived in Poland back in those days and they were very expensive there indeed. I don't even remember what they were but I do remember I chose a Belkin because it was so much cheaper. YMMV

Late 2000 and on, there were far more options available for sure. I have a Belkin from that era that I use as a travel router for the cabin. I still think early WIFI products are far better tested, and have better reliability than newer devices. Though some of that has to do with radio / B protocol from back then.

 

[Glideslope]

The definitive “Black Friday.”

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

such a strong statement...guess you only used the Apple branded one then cuz i had one in the past and lasted only few years. Been using Asus one and worked very very well.

Wrong.

I have used other Router brands, too.

And, BTW, when the notoriously ANTI-Apple tech site, Slashdot.org, published an article a few months back when Apple announced their withdrawal from the Router market, there were a TRULY ASTONISHING number of posters that were singing the praises of Apple Routers, particularly with regards to STABILITY. And, quite frankly, most of those posters had tried several other brand routers, and were typically quite knowledgeable regarding same.

 

[mudflap]

Really sad, considering Apple introduced the very first home wireless router 20 years ago.

 

[Williesleg]

What, if anything, does Apple officially recommend people to buy instead?

Dell products

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

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.

By "old Airports" are you talking 1st gen, with the bad capacitors?
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he Extremes, for example, will begin rejecting any WiFi clients beyond 50). But they were extremely good SOHO level equipment that supported Apple Specific f

I believe that's in the spec.
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I'm curious how Apple thinks people will use Time Machine with a bunch of laptops now?

Many NASes will work as Time Machine targets.
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Try Ubiquiti as your next move.

Never heard of 'em. Which model(s)?

If you mean these, they look like smoke detectors, and aren't particularly impressive:

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...iti-ac-pro-and-ac-lite-access-points-reviewed

Plus, no terrestrial ethernet ports. No sale.

 

[s15119]

Sad. I am sure my apple router would last quite a while, but I will have to carefully research when it's time to re-up.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

You ARE joking I know you are. They're good but feature light. Most stable? Wow what a claim.
Have a Draytek which is bullet proof.

Which Draytek? It looks like the most recent model is from 2011...

 

[anthonymoody]

Recently had one die. Replaced it with a Netgear Orbi mesh system. Works great, no complaints.

I went ahead in another location and did the same even though the Airport hadn't yet died. Also works great.

Still, I wish Apple would make a mesh system of its own.