Apple is disbanding wireless router division
Apple has disbanded the division that develops its wireless routers in a bid to sharpen the company’s focus. Apple began shuttering the team over the past year, and hasn’t refreshed its AirPort line-up of routers since 2013, following years of frequent updates to match standards from the wireless industry. The AirPort products are included in Apple’s “other products” category on its financial statements, a category which includes the Apple Watch and Apple TV, and made up 5% of total sales, $11.1bn, in 2016.

Apple has disbanded the hardware division responsible for its AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule products, according to a report from Bloomberg. The reassignment of employees signals that the company is making a quiet exit from the home router business — just as competitors like Google increase their focus on providing consumers with speedy, reliable Wi-Fi connectivity that blankets entire homes.

Apple’s router products were last updated in 2013 with support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi. But that was long before companies like Eero, Netgear, Google and others began manufacturing router systems that use a mesh network approach for better whole-home coverage. Apple’s AirPort devices, which remain available for sale, range in price between $99 and $399. Bloomberg reports that some engineers who formerly worked in the AirPort division have been moved over to Apple TV.

Apple’s AirPort Extreme router.