Apple on Thursday has officially discontinued its AirPort wireless networking products. The company told me that all AirPort Base Station products would continue to be sold in its stores “while supplies last.”
“We’re discontinuing the Apple AirPort base station products,” An Apple spokesperson told me. “They will be available through Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last.”
Apple has been selling its AirPort products for nearly 20 years, and they did very well for the company, but the device hasn’t seen an updated in years.
Quite a few things have changed in the networking world since the last major AirPort update, including service providers giving users free Wi-Fi routers, and the advent of mesh networks. In short, there are a lot of great products to choose from in the market.
Apple did say that any security issues with AirPorts will continue to receive updates for the time being.
Does that mean Time Capsule is dead as well?
Yes. The question is, how long will they provide firmware updates, if at all for these products, and how long will they support Time Machine on external devices?
Well, this means I’ll definitely be switching to a Ubiquiti system when my existing pair fails or gets too old for modern hardware …
Just checked – Ubiquiti does not have a Time Capsule equivalent. Indeed AFAIK, there is no 3rd party equivalent as good as Apple’s. Please tell me if I’m wrong…
The unfortunate thing is Apple leaving them in a semi-dead state for so long. I guess they hadn’t decided, but I’d love to understand WHY it took so long for them to finalize this decision.
“Luckily,” I gave up and switched to eero a few months ago.
I’ve been using a Synology NAS (along with a WiFi router) for Time Machine backups. It’s far more flexible and expandable than the Time Capsule. Not to mention ethernet speed for desktop Macs.
There are plenty of good Time Machine-compatible NASes and plenty of good WiFi routers, and honestly not mashing the two into one device is the better way to go about it.
For anyone looking for a new router, I’ve found the AmpliFi system to be a worthy successor to AirPort. Easier and faster to set up, even. The power adapter cord IS frustratingly short, but it’s otherwise been a top-notch experience (as you might expect from Ubiquiti’s consumer line).
That in fact was my previous approach, then the NAS failed miserably, and my wife was very happy that we got rid of the large, noisy, ugly device by simply replacing the old AirPlay with a Time Capsule.
Offering to replace the Time Capsule with a new NAS + router will be vetoed immediately.
I’ve wondered if the improving speeds of WiFi included in cable modems has contributed meaningfully to declining sales of AirPorts. They became just good enough for a high majority of users?
Plus with iCloud allowing a Mac to put the Documents and Desktop folders in iCloud, that could suit as a rudimentary off site backup for many users.
Worth remembering that Time Capsule and Time Machine are two different things.
This will make all of the family & friend tech support I always have to provide more difficult and annoying.
This too. And how.
Another great Apple product put out to pasture, RIP Airport.
So much for Apple’s ecosystem masterplan.
Obviously, this was another one of those pet projects from Steve Jobs that current executives have no passion or vision for. Though never a serious revenue stream, at least the Airport reenforced Jobs concept of a vast Apple network and ecosystem. I’d be very interested in find out which router Tim Cook uses, or Jony Ive uses.
I wince at the thought of wading through the variety of choices and security risks of other competing routers.
And losing a first-party Time Machine network backup device is significant. As reported further down the thread, third party Time Machine backups are possible but my experience is mixed. Time Capsule is the only way I could get my wife’s MacBook Pro reliably backed up. I don’t look forward to the day when I have to try that with a third party NAS.
This decision baffles me.
Airport’s ease of use is an advantage. Not just during setup, but when tech support is necessary. Having just one company to contact should not be underestimated. Neither should Apple products’ implied built-in privacy. Ease of use means many things.
IMHO, I would have preferred that Apple support Airport hardware until Apple TV had Airport functionality built in. I imagine the added cost would be marginal. This solution would solve several problems simultaneously.
One thousand cuts is a real thing.
Time Capsule isn’t my concern here, so …
I mean, I have a Mini attached to a Drobo that I can use for that.
(Plus, well, while RAID isn’t a backup, it’s a lot less fragile for storing them than a single rotary drive in my Time Capsule.)
I use a Time Capsule for some of my network backups, but have moved others to a Mac Mini server. Still a first-person solution, and seems to work just as reliably.
Rather than relying on Time Machine entirely, I also have Retrospect backups (and occasionally image disks remotely using Carbon Copy Cloner). Always a good idea to avoid putting all the eggs in one basket.
I’ve also appreciated the ecosystem when it comes to setting up or replacing a router. An Airport is so much easier to set up, especially from iPhone or iPad, than any of the other routers I’ve dealt with so far.
You could by Apple’s Server software ($19.99), that enables Time Machine backups to any volume attached to the server computer.
Mac Mini + MacOS server?
Dang it. AirPorts were the only routers that made sense to me. I hate having to go into the browser config for the Verizon modem/router. Hoping to see more recommendations for potential non-mesh replacements on this site.
“I’d be very interested in find out which router Tim Cook uses, or Jony Ive uses.”
That’s a very interesting thought.