After almost two decades in the wireless router market, Apple has announced that it will discontinue all Wireless Routers models and sell off their stock
Apple has announced that supplies of its existing routers, including the AirPort, AirPort Time Capsule, and AirPort Extreme will only be available until stocks last.
An Apple spokesperson announced that after this, lines of the company’s wireless router models would not be replaced.
Why has Apple stopped making wireless routers?
It is the latest line of equipment introduced by Apple’s late founder and CEO Steve Jobs consigned to the history books. Apple wireless routers made their debut all the way back in 1999 when Wi-Fi was still an emerging technology.
Since then the lines have enjoyed their share of success, but the writing was on the wall for Apple’s router arm since 2016. The company’s hardware division, tasked for over a decade and a half with developing wireless routers, was disbanded in 2016.
Added to that the fact that no model in the range had seen an update since 2013, and it comes as no surprise that Apple has decided to sell off their remaining router inventory.
Apple - the world’s largest tech brand has made some commitments to the future of their wireless routers, however. The company has promised to continue providing hardware and software support to users of existing models across the AirPort range, such as patching bugs and fixing vulnerabilities as they are exposed.
They have also stopped short of counting out any future involvement in the wireless router market, with a spokesperson quoting that we could see new Apple routers, “if it can make a meaningful contribution to space.”
What if I need a wireless router from Apple?
Apple did not go into specifics regarding why a decision to exit the router market has been made, but they hardly needed to explain exactly why.
When the product line was first introduced, wireless internet connections were a luxury. Now, they’re a commodity in both the home and office.
Many internet service providers bundle a router with their startup modem kits, which can be easily set up by customers. Meanwhile, users who either require lightning-fast speeds or greater wireless network coverage are spoilt for choice, with a wealth of options for both speed and functionality on the market.
Apple even carries some third party mesh router options in a limited number of Apple Stores, for users who wish to build a wireless network in a large space or to eliminate Wi-Fi dead zones.
Some of Apple’s products also work to make their router line obsolete; their HomePod connected speakers, for example, allow media sharing without the need for a router.
So the company has announced its decision that the ax has now fallen on all of its wireless router lines, and when the stock is sold out, it will not be replaced.