I’d rather see Apple abandon its Apple Car plans and focus on other things, such as reviving its AirPort line-up with Wi-Fi 7 support.
Why Wi-Fi 7?
Wi-Fi 7 can deliver significant throughput gains thanks to a wider channel and capacity gains from 6GHz spectrum. It can deliver peak rates of over 40 Gbps, a 4X increase over Wi-Fi 6E.
Wi-Fi 7 also introduces several multi-link options that can increase throughput and reduce latency. The most powerful multi-link alternative is High-Band Simultaneous Multi-Link, which uses two Wi-Fi radios operating simultaneously in the high bands (5GHz or 6GHz), creating one aggregated data pipe to deliver the optimal performance, even in congested areas.
There are other reasons. For example, read this “Cult of Mac” article by Ed Hardy on “Why a Wi-Fi 7 router should be on your 2024 shopping list.”
History of the AirPort line-up
In 2016, Apple discontinued the AirPort Express, the AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule line of wireless router/backup hardware. I think it ranks as one of the top two dumb ideas the tech giant made in discontinuing products. (The other is when it quit making semi-affordable Mac displays. Thankfully, it’s reversed course on that.)
In November 2016 Bloomberg reported that this was a move to try to sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue. The AirPort Express, the AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule, which cost US$99, $199, and $299, respectively, made up a small slice of Apple’s revenue and were part of Apple’s “other products” category on its financial statements.
What I want to see
I want to see a WiFi 6 compatible AirPort mesh networking system akin to those of the Eero and Orbi with a base station that doubles as a server hub for Apple’s HomeKit to make smart home devices easy to set up and use.
An Intego blog by Kirk McElhearn from June 15, 2020, perfectly sums up my feelings (just think Wi-Fi 7for the Wi-Fi part):
A mesh wi-fi system could form part of a broader Apple home network. Imagine if the HomePod, Apple TV, or future Apple in-home devices, acted as a satellite for a wi-fi access point, as well as being a HomeKit hub; this could get more people to buy these media devices, knowing that they would serve more than one purpose.
In addition, the Time Capsule, an AirPort base station with a built-in hard drive, was a great way to ensure that people backed up their Macs. It meant that both desktop Macs and laptops could be automatically backed up without needed to connect an external hard drive. This was not without its quirks, but the technology was seamless. Apple could have extended this backup to iOS devices as well, allowing local backups instead of or in addition to iCloud backups.
Beyond these two elements, it’s Apple’s abdication of the core technology we use to access content on our devices at home that seems surprising.
With all the concerns about privacy and the exploitation of user data, this is an area where Apple could have taken a stance. They could have built their AirPort devices into a mesh wi-fi system, perhaps adding that capability to the HomePod as well, which could give more value to that device. Perhaps Apple has some plans for this in the future, but for now, Amazon has a huge advantage in the smart home market.
Apple revived such “dead” products as its external monitor line and the full-size HomePod. Perhaps there’s hope for the AirPort/Time Capsule line yet.
