Apple stopped making AirPort routers after years without major updates, as Wi-Fi hardware became less distinctive and the company shifted engineering attention elsewhere. That is the best-supported explanation—not a reason Apple officially confirmed. Apple announced in April 2018 that it was discontinuing its AirPort base stations, but did not identify a single cause.
What Apple confirmed—and what it did not
Apple’s confirmed decision was to discontinue the AirPort base station products: AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule. On April 26, 2018, an Apple spokesperson told MacRumors: “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.”
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That statement announced the end of the product line; it did not explain the business decision. Contemporary reporting offers clues, but there is no public company explanation establishing one definitive reason, nor a disclosed AirPort sales or profitability figure. Claims that Apple officially cited low sales or poor profitability go beyond what the available evidence shows.
Why AirPort may no longer have been a priority
The products had gone years without updates
By the time Apple announced the discontinuation, the AirPort lineup was old by consumer-electronics standards. MacRumors reported that AirPort Express had last been updated in 2012, while AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule had last been updated in 2013. The long gap suggests Apple was no longer investing in regular development of the range, although it does not by itself prove why.
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The router market had become harder to differentiate
By 2018, many customers received Wi-Fi through equipment supplied by their internet provider, and competing companies offered both conventional routers and newer mesh systems. Reporting by MacRumors and The Verge describes that changing market. If a provider’s router is good enough for basic coverage, a separate Apple device may be less essential; customers needing more coverage or control had alternatives from other manufacturers.
Apple was redirecting engineering effort
In November 2016, reporting said Apple had dissolved its router development group and reassigned its engineers to other teams. MacRumors, summarizing Bloomberg’s reporting, connected the move to an effort “to try to sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue.” That is reported context, not a named Apple executive’s public explanation of the AirPort decision.
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Apple’s fiscal 2016 “Other Products” category was reported as generating $11.1 billion, about 5% of company sales, but the category covered products beyond AirPort. It cannot be used as a measure of router revenue. The available reporting supports a portfolio-priority explanation, not a precise internal calculation of AirPort’s financial performance.
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- 2012: AirPort Express was last updated, according to 2018 coverage.
- 2013: AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule were last updated, according to the same coverage.
- November 2016: Reporting said the AirPort development team had been dissolved and its engineers reassigned.
- January 2018: Apple was reported to have begun selling Linksys Velop, a third-party mesh system.
- April 26, 2018: Apple confirmed it was discontinuing AirPort base stations, with remaining stock available while supplies lasted.
The sequence matters: the engineering retreat was reported before the formal end-of-line announcement. Apple’s sale of Linksys Velop also showed that it could offer customers third-party networking hardware without continuing to manufacture its own router. It did not establish an exclusive partnership or an Apple endorsement of every mesh system.
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Does Apple still make AirPort routers, and are they supported?
No. Apple discontinued the AirPort line in 2018; it no longer makes new AirPort base stations. Whether an existing unit can receive service is a separate, model-specific question. Apple’s service and repair page defines a product as vintage when distribution stopped more than five but less than seven years ago, and obsolete when it stopped more than seven years ago. The page lists the first-generation AirPort Express 802.11n as vintage. That classification should not be applied to every AirPort model, and it does not guarantee repair availability: service depends on the exact device, region and parts availability.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to use instead
If your internet provider’s Wi-Fi covers your home reliably, you may not need a separate router. If coverage is weak in distant rooms, a mesh system can extend coverage using multiple access points; a conventional router may be enough for a smaller space or a simpler setup. The right choice depends on your layout, coverage needs and the features you want. The reporting establishes these as categories of alternatives, not a current ranking of particular models.
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