HIGHLIGHTS
AirPort routers’ work has been reportedly abandoned
Employees are being shifted to other divisions
There is no official announcement from Apple yet
In a bid to put all its focus on its bulk revenue generating products, Apple has reportedly abandoned development of its wireless Wi-Fi routers. Employees in the Wi-Fi router team are now being shifted to divisions focused on the iPhone, iPad, and even Apple TV.
Bloomberg reports that this move is due to the insignificant revenue generation from the AirPort router lineup, and the company’s strategic push to focus on its money-making products only. The Wi-Fi routers along with different products, which create Apple’s ‘Others’ product category, have constituted for only 5 percent of total sales in the 2016 fiscal.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter to claim that the team focused on routers has been spread across other departments over the course of this year. It’s worth noting that Apple has not refreshed its routers since 2013, hinting further that it has no plans of supporting the lineup any further.
Currently, Apple sells three wireless routers – the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule. The cost of these routers is Rs. 7,900 ($99 in US), Rs. 15,900 ($199 in US), and Rs. 24,500 ($299 in US) respectively. The AirPort Time Capsule is the most expensive as it doubles as a backup storage hard drive as well for Mac computers. It comes in two storage variants – 2TB for Rs. 24,500 and 3TB for Rs. 32,500. These routers are still listed on the company’s official website, and there is no confirmation from Apple regarding its abandoning plans.
Apple has been discontinuing other its small products, such as its standalone monitors. In June, Apple issued a statement saying the current Thunderbolt Display will only be available till stock lasts, but it won’t replenish stocks. The company was expected to launch a refreshed 5K display lineup this October, but that didn’t happen. Instead, Apple introduced a new partnership with LG for selling new high-resolution 5K screens.
