From: Richard Kahn

From: Richard Kahn To: "jeffrey E." <[email protected]> Subject: Fwd: Apple Ceases Development of 'AirPort' Wireless Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2016 16:36:03 +0000 Richard Kahn HBRK Associates Inc. 575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor New York, NY 10022 Begin forwarded message: From: james I personal genius < Subject: Apple Ceases Development of 'AirPort' Wireless Date: November 21, 2016 at 10:49:02 AM EST To: Richard Kahn Hi, Apple has given up on developing wifi routers; they're continuing to sell the existing models but not developing anything new in that space. The current models support all the newest wifi standards, so there's no reason for us to replace existing equipment, but moving forward I'll be recommending Eero hardware for new setups. Apple Ceases Development of 'AirPort' Wireless Routers as Engineers Reassigned to Other Products Apple has dissolved its division which develops wireless routers and is now sending engineers who worked on the AirPort lineup into other product teams, including one currently working on Apple TV. The news comes from a report by Bloomberg, who said Apple has been slowly shutting down the division over the past year and EFTA01061264 made the decision "to try to sharpen the company's focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue." irport_roundup Currently, Apple sells three wireless routers, including the AirPort Express ($99), AirPort Extreme ($199), and AirPort Time Capsule ($299), but none of the devices have seen a refresh since 2013. A temporary stock shortage earlier in the year gave hope that a refresh of the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule was coming during WWDC, but Apple never mentioned the products during its keynote. The trio of wireless routers still remain available for purchase for the time being. Exiting the router business could make Apple's product ecosystem less sticky. Some features of the AirPort routers, including wireless music playback, require an Apple device like an iPhone or Mac computer. If the company no longer sells wireless routers, some may have a reason to use other phones and PCs. The central reason for abandoning the AirPort line appears to focus mainly on its small revenue gains in comparison to the company's more lucrative products, like the iPhone. Apple includes its routers in the "other products" category of its annual financial results, a section which generated $11.1 billion in fiscal 2016, or about 5 percent of the company's total sales. Related Roundup: Aka= Tags: bloomberg com AirPort Extreme AirPort Time Capsule http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/21/apple-ceases-airport-wireless/ Thank you, EFTA01061265 James Ce, your Personal Genius, http://personalgenius.us EFTA01061266