“Amazon announced today that it is acquiring popular mesh Wi-Fi company eero, with a focus on integrating its smart home technology,” Chance Miller writes for 9to5Mac. “This announcement comes almost a year after Apple officials exited the router business, discontinuing its AirPort hardware line.”
“Did Apple miss out on a huge opportunity?” Miller writes. “It’s not necessarily acquiring eero that’s a missed opportunity for Apple. What is a missed opportunity for Apple, however, is not being involved in the recent wave of seemingly consumer-friendly, mesh Wi-Fi systems. As Bradley Chambers argued last December, Apple exited the home Wi-Fi market at exactly the wrong time.”
“In 2019, there are so many ways an Apple-branded mesh networking system could improve the experience of Apple devices. Integration with HomeKit, HomePod, and Apple TV could be incredibly seamless. Apple’s privacy-focused attitude would be a welcomed voice in the consumer Wi-Fi category. Imagine a HomePod-like or AirPods-like setup process for your router and various access points,” Miller writes. “To me, it feels like there’s a hole in the Wi-Fi hardware market for consumers.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Most people aren’t going to make the extra effort to learn about Wi-Fi hardware, spend extra money and install it. They’re just going to settle for whatever rented device(s) their ISP offers. In fact, as owners of their own Wi-Fi hardware know, the ISP usually doesn’t go out of their way to help with such setups. That’s likely why Apple exited the business. The market is just too small and the cost of educating consumers as to why they might want something better than their ISP’s rented box(es) is too high.
Until or unless we see something negative about Amazon’s ownership of eero, we’ll continue to use and recommend the very Apple-esque eero Home Wi-Fi System which offers tri-band WiFi radios, simultaneous 2.4GHz, 5.2GHz and 5.8GHz wireless. 2×2 MU-MIMO, Beamforming, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, and more.
SEE ALSO:
Amazon.com to buy mesh wi-fi system-maker eero for an undisclosed amount – February 11, 2019
Apple exited the home Wi-Fi market at the wrong time – December 31, 2018
Apple removes all AirPort products from online and retail stores – November 17, 2018
How to set up your home network for many Apple TVs, Macs, iPhones, and iPads – June 12, 2018
Apple begins to sell out of AirPort base stations – May 17, 2018
Requiem for the AirPort base station: A testament to everything Apple was and isn’t anymore – April 27, 2018
Apple makes yet another short-sighted decision: Apple has discontinued a product that it should have made a cornerstone of its home automation and entertainment ecosystem – April 27, 2018
Apple’s decision to discontinue AirPort products is the wrong decision at the wrong time – April 27, 2018
Apple pulls plug on AirPort Wi-Fi router business – April 26, 2018
eero’s new mesh WiFi system packs more power in an Apple-esque design – June 29, 2017
AppleInsider reviews eero Wi-Fi: ‘A solid option for Apple’s outgoing AirPort’ – February 27, 2017
With eero, you can kiss slow Wi-Fi goodbye forever – February 10, 2017
Wouldn’t the whole reason for Apple to buy Apple-esque system like Eero be The Point? Run it like Beats. Separate, with independent margins to achieve, then leverage Apple’s “Cook-esque’ [MDN – consider this TM] manufacturing/sourcing prowess, and build on the Eero s/w to make it hard for even the slack-jawed to use/configure? Missed opportunity indeed. Good for Amazon for having an all-conquering vision…
Man, I don’t know how I could’ve apologized for Cook for so long. It’s obvious to everyone just how clueless and inept he is.
Ya think?
MDN take is myopic.
Every single click you visit, packet you send, all of those logs are up at EERO because it is cloud based. Even if EERO people are saints, its not if, but when will they get hacked. It’s too big a honey pot. And now with the saints at Amazon running things…what could go wrong!?!
Do not get cloud based routers. Keep that data to yourself. If you want a mesh based router get the Orbi or others that do not require you to have that stuff up in the cloud. It’s absolutely begging for trouble.
Synology makes a great mesh router too.
Agreed. Set up a RT2600 and MR220P in our condo 2 week’s ago and coverage is perfect in areas the ABS couldnt reach.
The SRM is chock full of options and vest, allows for a Time Machine.
I bought the RT 2600 based on the advice here and have been very happy with it. It covers a 3500 sq ft house with a second floor with a strong signal. Mesh turns out to be unnecessary. The frequent security updates are awesome. Apple rarely updated the AirPort Extreme.
If you thbnk about it, it is highly possible that EERO is already on AWS so it was a no brainer and easy for Amazon to integrate vs Apple doing the same and still using AWS on the cloud end.
“Until or unless we see something negative about Amazon’s ownership of eero”
Um, like… it’s Amazon? Getting another foot in the door of total home covert surveillance? Since when has security been a concern of Amazon’s, except when it could profit off of abusing it?
Apple is allowing people to leave the walled garden. When my airport went, I purchased non-apple. When my apple external monitor went, I had to buy a non-apple monitor.
Ipad needs replacing, why not look at other alternatives since apple keeps screwing me as a customer.
Because I despise the Android OS and the Google garden ultimately is worse?
But I have used an Android phone for years and I have two Android tablets. I only use Android auto in my truck though. Everything else is Apple.
Good luck with finding a decent alternative iPad replacement !
Can’t wait to hear Zero’s take on this. I’m sure he will complain about Cook selling overpriced routers that Apple doesn’t even sell. Bring it on Zero.
But you’re smart and always tell the truth and we miss you, Zero. Please come back!
Zero’s a zero.
I do miss me some Zune-tang. Now that was entertainment.
Even so, Zero rocks.
Yes! I, too, miss that old rascal Zune Tang. His (her?) faux pro-Microsoft diatribes to the point of being delusional were hysterical.
Zero has now become Sean, or at least, a fake Sean. It’s sad but true.
Yeah right, next you’ll be telling us that Sean became Zerorandy.
Ridiculous 😝
🤡JUST KIDDING🤡
Fake people are fake. Tim Cook’s not fake. Apple’s success is not fake. Sean, Zero, etc – all fake. Faker than fake, fake fake fake. It’s sad, but true – you trolls know who you are, your childish ways are sickening. Tell your mothers and grandmothers of your lame behavior and tell us whether they’d be proud of you or would whomp you over the ear for being a 13 year old in a 45 year old’s body in your Mom’s basement.
Sad!
I was just kidding. I’m bored. I talked to Sean on DM and he confirmed that he’s anti-Cook.
So be it.
I’m glad he’s gone. Zeero was a waste of neurons, he thought he knew everything, but he’s been banned. Now he pretends to be Sean, but at least we never need to see the idiotic, Moronic, words “zeero randroid” ever again – good riddance to evil rubbish and his anti-Tim Cookery.
I was just kidding. I’m bored. I talked to Sean on DM and he confirmed that he’s anti-Cook.
So be it. I am the fake Sean and the fake Zeero and all I do is trollle people because I’m sad
Went to an AMPLIFI HD setup from Ubiquiti.
Kick ass little device and more Apple-like than eero. Have had zero issues with it. Has a great companion app too.
Why? Because Apple is run by an abject moron. That’s why.
It’s one missed opportunity after another with Cook’s Apple.
Cook is too busy designing door knobs while the very foundation of Apple is crumbling beneath him.
Looks like your barks is far worse than your bite. Tim Cook makes billions, you make zeeeroes. You are a phaik losah.
@Alan Greenspan 👍👍👍👍👍
ubiquiti is the best. but if apple bought them they’d quickly become the worst. apple has no idea how to do that market. its not a flashy gadget that can be resold with new paint every 10 months.
Apple has completely given up on the router business. I suppose there isn’t enough profits in it for Apple. Too bad. I had liked Apple’s end-to-end connectivity approach for home computing.
The thing is, Wall Street will praise Amazon for taking over another home device business and that will drive Amazon’s stock up nicely while Apple’s share price stagnates. Amazon buying eero is good for me if I need a mesh router system. I’ll be able to buy an eero Wi-Fi system from Amazon for a lot less than Apple would be selling it for. I’m not for Apple taking on any more consumer hardware products and I wish Apple would look for some non-hardware businesses.
Well said. Today the market is up strong and Apple is waaay underperforming. Again. As usual, those who put their money on Apple come out the loser. Big time.
They didn’t buy it because it would have made sense. Apple acquisitions must be puzzling by nature.
I agree, when much of its major opposition get into a market precisely when they decide to leave, suggests to me on recent times that it won’t be Apple who has made the right decision.
Cook needs to articulate a vision beyond just “holding down the fort”. He has had a long while to use Apple’s leading position and massive cash to leverage the brand. Unfortunately, it seems like the focus has been on operations and building a “grand” headquarters to show off. Shareholders like me want to see more vision from him and more strategic use of capital beyond a fancy headquarters. If not, increase the dividend significantly and transition from a growth company to a dividend play.
To articulate a vision, one must first have a vision. Tim Cook is a slack joweled, USDA Grade A inspected idiot. He has no vision. He wouldnt have a vision if one bit him in the ass.
Tim Cook surrounds himself with fat, lazy, incompetent morons like Eddy Cue. People who have squandered the wonderful, almost magical Apple that Steve Jobs built.
Tim Cook will forever be remembered for the blank eyed, drooling moron that he is.
Tim Cooks legacy will be missed opportunities. Under his leadership Apple only appears to be able to concentrate on one product at a time. The iPhone. While all other products stagnate. Apple was 4 years ahead of Netflix on renting and streaming movies. Apple was 4 and 5 years ahead of Google and Amazon on AI. Apple was years ahead of the completion on an end to end home easy to use WiFI solution. All the above have been left to stagnate and die. I don’t understand Apple under Tim Cook. Don’t forget late Apple Music was. Time for Tim Cook to go.
Ah, here we go again. You really have no memory of Jobs, do you? He did the same thing. When he came back, he got rid of a number of popular, and profitable business’s. Apple never went back to them.
My 4 Apple routers still have the best performance. They act as mesh systems. Same network name and password. Just set them to extend network, and they don’t drop as you move from router to router. About 500Mb/s from my 1Gb/s FIOS connection, none of these other makers do more than about half that.
Apple made a big mistake dropping their router division.
Ok so some people say don’t buy eero due to some issues with their tech and Amazon can’t be trusted etc…
but to me the REAL PONT is:
WHY DID APPLE LET THEIR OWN WIFI TECH ROT?
they didn’t update it (like the Mac Pro) for years.
They could have invested their time and made a better product which has privacy stuff built in etc …
but now they’ve thrown Apple users to 3rd parties. We have to wade through reviews and comparisons and then figure out how to set them up , some the routers aren’t that Apple eco system friendly. AirPorts could have been a networking hub of the A.I powered home and office — a very big deal (that’s why Bezos bought EERO) . AirPorts were geared for ease of use in the Apple eco system.
Cook inherited 60,000 staff, now he’s got 150,000 and R&D has skyrocketed as well. But he lets core tech rot while their staff play with Diamond Rings, furniture, fruit gardens, coffee table books etc etc. They just advertised NEW ‘pop star’ EMOJIS !
Look he also let the whole GIANT Education Market disappear before his eyeballs without doing anything . Chromebooks there went from ZERO to 70% with Msft. taking the rest. ( My wife has a masters in Education, if you watched the Apple mess unfold for YEARS without Cupertino concern it was astonishing.. ! )
Why are Pages, Numbers STILL in the kiddy stage and inferior to OneNote etc? Why did SIRI flounder and now needs intensive care? Mac Pro from 2013? iTunes still a mess. iPad Pro (hardware great I just bought one) but Pro OS missing, bugs like FACE TIME BUG … etc etc etc
Cook and SVPs need to focus on their corporate strategy, products, support and marketing.
Maybe because Apple didn’t find it worth the effort to deal with problems stemming from trying to connect non-Apple devices to their routers after adding Apple specific functions.
You say that AFTER Bezos bought were? obviously the richest man in the world with a company that has a PE which Apple investors can only dream off… thinks it’s a solvable issue. For the potentential gain of ruling the A.I home, factory and office landscape. A.I control they say is going to be many times bigger than any tech advance ever, many times bigger in profits than the silicon chip, and networking is a key component.
typo should be. “Bezos bought EERO”. Spell checker changed it
Apologists keep saying it’s ‘too hard” when Apple fails yet Apple didn’t think trying to build an all glass roof support cylinder Steve Jobs conference centre too hard, they just poured whatever millions etc it took, or the giant fruit farm which emptied orchard nurseries around the USA , or the three storey cafeteria doors….
Damn you, auto correct!
DYAC dot com.
That’s just not true. Apple’s routers always got excellent reviews for ease of installation for Windows as well as macOS.
Peoplenjust do not get it. The reason why Apple exited the network market was the deal what they made with Cisco. Apple wont compete with them because they are now very important partners in the business world. Try to FINALLY GET THIS!
cisco makes over priced garbage. so they are perfect for working with apple.