Apple Axes Its AirPort Wireless Router Division to Focus on More Popular Products
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Apple is axing its wireless router division, reassigning the engineers who worked on the company’s proprietary AirPort devices on other projects, according to a new report.
Cupertino has been slowly shutting down its wireless router division over the last year, and is sharpening the company’s focus on more popular products that make up the bulk of its revenue, according to Bloomberg. For example, some of the engineers who worked on Apple’s wireless routers have been moved to the team working on Apple TV, among other development divisions. Bloomberg’s sources asked not to be named, as the decision to dissolve the AirPort division hasn’t been announced publicly.
The company’s wireless router lineup includes the $99 AirPort Express, the $199 AirPort Extreme, and the $299 AirPort Time Capsule. None of the devices have received refreshes or updates in over three years, most likely due to the fact that the AirPort lineup makes up only a small portion of Apple’s total revenue, especially when compared to the company’s more popular and financially lucrative products. Wireless routers are categorized under “Other Products” in Apple’s annual fiscal reports. In 2016, that section made Apple $11.1 billion, or around 5 percent of the year’s total sales, Bloomberg reported. It’s worth noting that the “Other Products” category also includes popular Apple devices like the Watch, the iPod, and Apple TV.
Although Apple’s routers are expensive and have lagged behind other companies in terms of new features and standards, they’re known for their ease of use and simple integration with other Apple products, according to Gizmodo. But like the company’s decision to stop producing first-party external monitors, it may open the gate for future partnerships — like Apple’s new strategy of selling third-party monitors made by LG.
Although it seems that new AirPort routers are unlikely to be developed, Apple’s current trio of routers are still available for purchase from the company’s website.
