Funny to see posts lamenting the possible demise of Apple’s networking products when those products are constantly trashed and lambasted by those now protesting their demise.
I would hope no one considers trash like Netgear or DLink to replace an AirPort. Something higher end like Ubiquity would be more appropriate.
Unfortunately there are very few DSL routers available by companies other than the likes of Netgear/Dlink/TP-link. Higher end gear is almost always Ethernet only, so you need a DSL modem between the router and the ISP. Bit of a kludge.
First thing I did when I got my r7000 router, years ago is install dd-wrt software for all the extra features. Just tested and it's working fine, no vulnerabilities.
DD-WRT is indeed proof against the attack, but that install is beyond what most users are willing to do.
Netgear did not go public with the issue until Dec. 12.
Dec. 9th was a Friday. Dec. 12th is a Monday. It's very likely that they took the weekend off, which is not uncommon these days with many larger corporations. I think the above is overstated.
First thing I did when I got my r7000 router, years ago is install dd-wrt software for all the extra features. Just tested and it's working fine, no vulnerabilities.
Yah, I'm running dd-wrt on my D-Link router. I was planning on buying an Airport Extreme, but now I'm having second thoughts since Apple is reported to be abandoning them.
The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores.
This is incorrect. I purchased 2 AirPort Extremes from my local Apple Store within the last month. The linked article is quite old and the stock pull possibly had to do with an FCC issue that resolved in June.
I noticed R6300 is not on the list. I have one of these, but I think I should check into this issue anyway...
Now, about the industrial design of these consumer routers--what is it with these companies that their high performance models always have to look like some evil stealth alien space bug?
I look at Cisco or Ubiquity routers/WAPs, and it seems possible to have a clean, low profile package.
I would think Netgear/Linksys, etc would want to appeal to residential consumers that value high performance and clean aesthetics. Which of course Apple does, which would make it all the more sad if they are in fact abandoning this product segment.
The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores.
This is false information. The link above is to a story from months ago, when AirPort was temporarily pulled for updates. They were re-stocked. These devices are all available right now. They have not been discontinued. Rather than check their information, AppleInsider is just repeating something with no follow-up. Search the Apple website. AirPort devices are currently available for order, with delivery as early as tomorrow. They're also currently in-stock and available for pickup at your local store today.
The "news" that AirPort is being discontinued is all based on a single article, which quoted anonymous sources, and even those sources were only saying that some engineering staff was being reassigned from the AirPort group to other projects. The "discontinuation" rumor is just pure speculation. There doesn't appear to be anything written out there that's independently reported. All the hype comes from the one article. Haven't we had enough fake news lately? Does anyone actually care about accuracy and reliable information?
This is a market Apple should not be leaving, still lots of room for innovation and still a way to make buying into the Apple ecosystem just work.
You simply can't believe all the rumors about Apple's plans. Apple has never said it would discontinue their router lineup. Wouldn't they say so if they were? Apparently there are plenty of people outside of Apple who claim to know more about what Apple is doing than Apple itself does.
The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores.
This is false information. The link above is to a story from months ago, when AirPort was temporarily pulled for updates. They were re-stocked. These devices are all available right now. They have not been discontinued. Rather than check their information, AppleInsider is just repeating something with no follow-up. Search the Apple website. AirPort devices are currently available for order, with delivery as early as tomorrow. They're also currently in-stock and available for pickup at your local store today.
The "news" that AirPort is being discontinued is all based on a single article, which quoted anonymous sources, and even those sources were only saying that some engineering staff was being reassigned from the AirPort group to other projects. The "discontinuation" rumor is just pure speculation. There doesn't appear to be anything written out there that's independently reported. All the hype comes from the one article. Haven't we had enough fake news lately? Does anyone actually care about accuracy and reliable information?
Indeed. I specifically checked at my local store when last there just to see for myself. Lots of AP equipment available.
Does anyone actually care about accuracy? Given the rise of crap blogs, tech media click-bait, and now fake news stories, I would say - almost no one (less than 5% of the population might care - the rest, if giving an honest answer, would probably say it isn't a big deal).
We now live in a "post truth" world...and it will take a long time before enough people realize it isn't a great place to live...
Apple renamed themselves from Apple Computer to Apple years ago because they made more than computers.
As they fail to even maintain or upgrade the products the do make in any significant way, they should rename themselves just Apple Phone, or since they only care about games and music and movies, just Apple Enterainment.
iPhone, iPad, MBP have all received significant upgrades. As far as can be expected in maturing product categories -- you're not going to see holographic displays or flying cheeseburgers coming out of the screens any time soon. That being said, they're the finest iterations of their respective product categories I've ever used. I can't think of any other laptop, tablet or cell phone I'd prefer to use.
I certainly hope it isn't true, but I have difficulty seeing that the Airport line sells in significant quantities these days. Even those of us who are fans only buy a single unit for a household every few years, since they work so well (and wireless speeds since "n" have been more than enough for most consumer situations). At least in North America, the ISP's typically supply a unit that is "good enough" for most (who don't value security of reliability), and the tech sets it up for them. And consider the fact that many ISPs' policy is that they won't trouble shoot the issue unless any 3rd party devices are removed. How many go out of their way to purchase an Apple product and plug it into that ISP-supplied-router setup?
If true, we can all be disappointed, but I think it is overkill to say that this is an example of Apple dropping the ball.
I was looking into Mesh networking products the other day. I see that there are some highly regarded offerings. I understand the argument that Apple thinks they have nothing to offer relative to those players.
But I think those arguments are wrong.
Even if Apple can't add anything in terms of the product's technical spec sheet, they can add a highly credible claim that they will do their best to keep your local network secure. And when they pair that with TimeCapsule, they can make a highly credible claim to keep your data safe and secure.
Now... I'm NOT suggesting that Apple has zero security/reliability issues with their products. They aren't perfect.
But compared to alternative vendors who exist in the real world, there is no other company that I trust more (at least none that is in my price range, offering products that more or less "just work" for consumers, prosumers, and small businesses). There might occasionally be a company that offers a better product, but none that do it consistently year after year.
I really want Apple to figure out how to produce, update, and maintain more than just a small handful of products. I want a grown-up version of Apple. Some people misinterpret that to mean that I want Apple to become just like other big companies, but that's not it. I want Apple to become a grown-up version of itself -- to be the best it can be.
Apple's game isn't to produce a large variety of products. "A thousands No's for every Yes" is their motto. They aren't google, hyping up stuff then shelving it. If you want a large product portfolio you'll likely be eternally disappointed.
Apple renamed themselves from Apple Computer to Apple years ago because they made more than computers.
As they fail to even maintain or upgrade the products the do make in any significant way, they should rename themselves just Apple Phone, or since they only care about games and music and movies, just Apple Enterainment.
iPhone, iPad, MBP have all received significant upgrades. As far as can be expected in maturing product categories -- you're not going to see holographic displays or flying cheeseburgers coming out of the screens any time soon. That being said, they're the finest iterations of their respective product categories I've ever used. I can't think of any other laptop, tablet or cell phone I'd prefer to use.
There are legitimate cases where Apple is very clearly not upgrading the products with any frequency (Mac Pro, Mac Mini, the AirPort line), and complaints by those users are warranted. But there is a lot of overreaction as well.
If you stretch back over the last 18 months, there has been major updates in iPhone, iPad (pros), Apple Watch, iMac (4K and 5K), and now MBP. Myself I do believe Apple should have done a spec bump on the iMac's just to ensure, for those that go looking before purchasing, that the model isn't "stale". However, technically there doesn't seem to be much difference in performance from past Intel CPU to the current one. Is it really worthwhile (technically) to update a line to get 10-15% improvement each year? Or wait a couple of years until the improvement is noticeable?
The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores.
This is false information. The link above is to a story from months ago, when AirPort was temporarily pulled for updates. They were re-stocked. These devices are all available right now. They have not been discontinued. Rather than check their information, AppleInsider is just repeating something with no follow-up. Search the Apple website. AirPort devices are currently available for order, with delivery as early as tomorrow. They're also currently in-stock and available for pickup at your local store today.
The "news" that AirPort is being discontinued is all based on a single article, which quoted anonymous sources, and even those sources were only saying that some engineering staff was being reassigned from the AirPort group to other projects. The "discontinuation" rumor is just pure speculation. There doesn't appear to be anything written out there that's independently reported. All the hype comes from the one article. Haven't we had enough fake news lately? Does anyone actually care about accuracy and reliable information?
You appear correct -- Apple still has a Networking product category and sure enough what do we see?
The online store still sells the products. However, my local 7 stores (including a flagship) have exactly zero shelf space for them, and no product in-store.
So yes, we've done some research on the matter, and we continue to do so.
Also, despite there perhaps being stock in your local store, that doesn't change the fact that there is no more internal Airport basestation hardware division at Cupertino -- that link is also in the original post. We'll all see with time.
The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores.
This is incorrect. I purchased 2 AirPort Extremes from my local Apple Store within the last month. The linked article is quite old and the stock pull possibly had to do with an FCC issue that resolved in June.
via the link: "This discrepancy could lend credence to the idea that these stockouts are related compliance with a June 2 deadline
set by the FCC. This is the date at which routers approved under an
older set of rules can't be sold unless they meet newer security
regulations which have been phased in since 2014."
Which turned out to be the case, as Chromos pointed out. It looks like we're guilty of not updating an older article. That's a legitimate complaint.
Mike did his due diligence checking with his resources and local retailers -- as we do for everything we post. We have updated the last line of the article to say "some" retailers instead of all. Not everything is a conspiracy, this is not evidence of living in the "post truth" world.
I certainly hope it isn't true, but I have difficulty seeing that the Airport line sells in significant quantities these days. Even those of us who are fans only buy a single unit for a household every few years, since they work so well (and wireless speeds since "n" have been more than enough for most consumer situations). At least in North America, the ISP's typically supply a unit that is "good enough" for most (who don't value security of reliability), and the tech sets it up for them. And consider the fact that many ISPs' policy is that they won't trouble shoot the issue unless any 3rd party devices are removed. How many go out of their way to purchase an Apple product and plug it into that ISP-supplied-router setup?
If true, we can all be disappointed, but I think it is overkill to say that this is an example of Apple dropping the ball.
By not renting the ISP router, you can pay for the Apple router after a year or two. That's one reason people would choose that route. If you get the one with the Time Capsule built in, you can keep your Macs backed up wirelessly, without thinking about it. That's why I bought one.
As for only needing to buy a single unit every few years, this (along with the fact that new wifi standards aren't set to be adopted for another year or two) is likely why they don't need a lot of staff working on hardware upgrades for the near term. This would be the simpler (Occam's razor, anyone?) explanation for the unsourced story that people are being moved to other projects. It does not have to mean they're ditching the products. It means they may not need to develop upgrades (aside from the occasional firmware patch for security purposes) for another year or two.
The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores.
This is false information. The link above is to a story from months ago, when AirPort was temporarily pulled for updates. They were re-stocked. These devices are all available right now. They have not been discontinued. Rather than check their information, AppleInsider is just repeating something with no follow-up. Search the Apple website. AirPort devices are currently available for order, with delivery as early as tomorrow. They're also currently in-stock and available for pickup at your local store today.
The "news" that AirPort is being discontinued is all based on a single article, which quoted anonymous sources, and even those sources were only saying that some engineering staff was being reassigned from the AirPort group to other projects. The "discontinuation" rumor is just pure speculation. There doesn't appear to be anything written out there that's independently reported. All the hype comes from the one article. Haven't we had enough fake news lately? Does anyone actually care about accuracy and reliable information?
Indeed. I specifically checked at my local store when last there just to see for myself. Lots of AP equipment available.
Does anyone actually care about accuracy? Given the rise of crap blogs, tech media click-bait, and now fake news stories, I would say - almost no one (less than 5% of the population might care - the rest, if giving an honest answer, would probably say it isn't a big deal).
We now live in a "post truth" world...and it will take a long time before enough people realize it isn't a great place to live...
When truth costs money, I'm pretty sure which is more persuasive.
The online store still sells the products. However, my local 7 stores (including a flagship) have exactly zero shelf space for them, and no product in-store.
So yes, we've done some research on the matter, and we continue to do so.
Also, despite there perhaps being stock in your local store, that doesn't change the fact that there is no more internal Airport basestation hardware division at Cupertino -- that link is also in the original post. We'll all see with time.
I just looked for stock of the 3TB Airport Time Capsule, typing in probably a dozen cities in areas across the US. Results show about a dozen stores for each search, and I found precisely one store that did not have the device in stock, available today. If you want one from the Southlake Town Square store in the Dallas area, you'll have to wait 48 hours. Or you could go to one of the other eleven stores in that area and pick one up now.
Your article, before you edited it, said "The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores." So you clearly didn't do much checking to make such an unequivocal claim. As for "the fact that there is no more internal Airport basestation hardware division," that claim comes from a single Bloomberg article from three weeks ago, which is based on info from anonymous sources. There does not appear to be any reporting independent of that article to corroborate the claim that there's no router division, or even what that might actually mean. Isn't that kind of a thin broth to use as a basis for repeated stories here claiming that Apple is actually discontinuing the product? Each such story here and in other places yields plenty of chatter, cursing of Tim Cook and predictions of the doom of Apple, but with no comment from Apple, and no independent reporting (or even additional reporting from Bloomberg), there is literally no basis to keep repeating the claim that Airport is being discontinued. Maybe in the grand scheme of things it's no big deal, but to keep repeating the assertion seems irresponsible to me.
Comments
Dec. 9th was a Friday. Dec. 12th is a Monday. It's very likely that they took the weekend off, which is not uncommon these days with many larger corporations. I think the above is overstated.
Yah, I'm running dd-wrt on my D-Link router. I was planning on buying an Airport Extreme, but now I'm having second thoughts since Apple is reported to be abandoning them.
Now, about the industrial design of these consumer routers--what is it with these companies that their high performance models always have to look like some evil stealth alien space bug?
I look at Cisco or Ubiquity routers/WAPs, and it seems possible to have a clean, low profile package.
I would think Netgear/Linksys, etc would want to appeal to residential consumers that value high performance and clean aesthetics. Which of course Apple does, which would make it all the more sad if they are in fact abandoning this product segment.
The "news" that AirPort is being discontinued is all based on a single article, which quoted anonymous sources, and even those sources were only saying that some engineering staff was being reassigned from the AirPort group to other projects. The "discontinuation" rumor is just pure speculation. There doesn't appear to be anything written out there that's independently reported. All the hype comes from the one article. Haven't we had enough fake news lately? Does anyone actually care about accuracy and reliable information?
Does anyone actually care about accuracy? Given the rise of crap blogs, tech media click-bait, and now fake news stories, I would say - almost no one (less than 5% of the population might care - the rest, if giving an honest answer, would probably say it isn't a big deal).
We now live in a "post truth" world...and it will take a long time before enough people realize it isn't a great place to live...
If true, we can all be disappointed, but I think it is overkill to say that this is an example of Apple dropping the ball.
Apple's game isn't to produce a large variety of products. "A thousands No's for every Yes" is their motto. They aren't google, hyping up stuff then shelving it. If you want a large product portfolio you'll likely be eternally disappointed.
If you stretch back over the last 18 months, there has been major updates in iPhone, iPad (pros), Apple Watch, iMac (4K and 5K), and now MBP. Myself I do believe Apple should have done a spec bump on the iMac's just to ensure, for those that go looking before purchasing, that the model isn't "stale". However, technically there doesn't seem to be much difference in performance from past Intel CPU to the current one. Is it really worthwhile (technically) to update a line to get 10-15% improvement each year? Or wait a couple of years until the improvement is noticeable?
http://www.apple.com/shop/accessories/all-accessories/networking
"This discrepancy could lend credence to the idea that these stockouts are related compliance with a June 2 deadline set by the FCC. This is the date at which routers approved under an older set of rules can't be sold unless they meet newer security regulations which have been phased in since 2014."
Which turned out to be the case, as Chromos pointed out. It looks like we're guilty of not updating an older article. That's a legitimate complaint.
Mike did his due diligence checking with his resources and local retailers -- as we do for everything we post. We have updated the last line of the article to say "some" retailers instead of all. Not everything is a conspiracy, this is not evidence of living in the "post truth" world.
As for only needing to buy a single unit every few years, this (along with the fact that new wifi standards aren't set to be adopted for another year or two) is likely why they don't need a lot of staff working on hardware upgrades for the near term. This would be the simpler (Occam's razor, anyone?) explanation for the unsourced story that people are being moved to other projects. It does not have to mean they're ditching the products. It means they may not need to develop upgrades (aside from the occasional firmware patch for security purposes) for another year or two.
Your article, before you edited it, said "The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products are not currently being sold in Apple Retail stores." So you clearly didn't do much checking to make such an unequivocal claim. As for "the fact that there is no more internal Airport basestation hardware division," that claim comes from a single Bloomberg article from three weeks ago, which is based on info from anonymous sources. There does not appear to be any reporting independent of that article to corroborate the claim that there's no router division, or even what that might actually mean. Isn't that kind of a thin broth to use as a basis for repeated stories here claiming that Apple is actually discontinuing the product? Each such story here and in other places yields plenty of chatter, cursing of Tim Cook and predictions of the doom of Apple, but with no comment from Apple, and no independent reporting (or even additional reporting from Bloomberg), there is literally no basis to keep repeating the claim that Airport is being discontinued. Maybe in the grand scheme of things it's no big deal, but to keep repeating the assertion seems irresponsible to me.