“A reader sees Apple’s direction moving far away from AirPlay, once a key advantage of its various OSes and networking systems,” Glenn Fleishman writes for Macworld. “Dave Macaulay is an extensive user: ‘I use AirPlay to stream music from my iMac’s iTunes library. The iMac has an AirPort Extreme router sending WiFi to three AirPort Express routers. One AirPort Express is fairly new, while two are an older, original design. Each AirPort Express is connected to an audio receiver or to a Bose Wave radio. I also have an 4th generation Apple TV connected to one audio receiver.'”
“Dave took the recent reports that Apple had apparently disbanded the AirPort product team as a sign that AirPlay might be on the way out, and wonders what to do when his routers die,” Fleishman writes. “It’s a real concern.”
Fleishman writes, “Apple might update and replace AirPlay with something else, but I would expect that to be years in the future.”
Fleishman explains why here.
MacDailyNews Take: And, if they do replace AirPlay with something else, it might also be backwards compatible with AirPlay, at least for a time, to account for the millions of 3-year-old and older iPads, iPhones, and Macs out there.
Goodbye, AirPort. Hello, Eero, Orbi, or AmpliFi!
SEE ALSO:
How to choose the best Wi-Fi replacement for your Apple AirPort routers – January 30, 2017
The eero home Wi-Fi system is the mesh network solution Apple should’ve made – December 14, 2016
Mossberg: Eero makes Wi-Fi simpler and stronger – February 23, 2016