Apple announces the end of the AirPort range

Apple recently officially confirmed that it was terminating its AirPort Wi-Fi router product line. This includes the AirPort Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We’re discontinuing the Apple AirPort base station products. They will be available through Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last.”

The last time Apple updated the AirPort range was when it issued updates for the Express in 2012 and for the Time Capsule and Extreme in 2013. Bloomberg revealed in late 2016 that the Cupertino-based company was no longer continuing development of the AirPort range and that engineers had been reassigned to other divisions.

Apple started closing down its AirPort unit more than two years ago in an attempt to concentrate on “consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue”.

The firm didn’t officially start selling third-party routers such as the Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi system until January this year.

The AirPort range offered one-of-a-kind benefits that could not be found in third-party alternatives. Examples include the AirPort Express AirPlay functionality and the Time Capsule’s integrated Time Machine backup support.

Despite ceasing production of AirPort merchandise, Apple plans to offer parts and services for present generation AirPort Base Stations until 2023.

According to iMore, the company also intends to release a number of knowledge based articles over the next few weeks to help AirPort owners with the transition to other devices.

Apple will still offer the three AirPort products in retail stores and online until current stocks are depleted. The company didn’t mention any discounts at this stage.

The firm has since also released a support document with tips on selecting a Wi-Fi router. It recommends a router with WPA2 personal encryption, 802.11, dual band support and MU-MIMO or MIMO.