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Apple Abandons Development of Wireless Routers, To Focus On Products That Return More Profit (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the killing-things dept.

Apple has disbanded its division that develops wireless routers in a move that further sharpens the company's focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue, Bloomberg reports. From the article:Apple began shutting down the wireless router team over the past year, dispersing engineers to other product development groups, including the one handling the Apple TV. Apple hasn't refreshed its routers since 2013 following years of frequent updates to match new standards from the wireless industry. The decision to disband the team indicates the company isn't currently pushing forward with new versions of its routers. Routers are access points that connect laptops, iPhones and other devices to the web without a cable. Apple currently sells three wireless routers, the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time capsule. The Time capsule doubles as a backup storage hard drive for Mac computers.

4 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. great news by ganjadude · · Score: 3, Insightful

    as someone who supports consumer grade routers, this is the best news I could get today. these airports are the worst

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    have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    1. Re:great news by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      . Setting up a port forward is hard enough (you have to use a special Apple program to do it, there is no browser-based interface)

      It's true that there's no browser-based interface (and needing a restart is stupid), but it's not true that you need an Apple program. The routers speak SNMP, so you can use a third-party tool if you prefer.

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  2. Re:Time Capsule by XXongo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah, I'm at a loss as to why they think moves like this are sensible. The hard core of Apple fanboys who want all of their devices to have that same logo and to automagically work together

    I don't care about the label, but I emphatically believe that devices I buy ought to "automatically" work together, and that this feature (which I call "functionality") is worth paying extra for.

  3. Of Course by MichaelJ · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Because if your Desktop and Documents folders live on iCloud drive, and your music streams from the iTunes store, why would you need a Time Machine backup any more?

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    Michael J.
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