There’s nothing like a good Apple event to get you thinking about the company’s past and where it’s going next. Like many others that tuned into Cupertino’s “Awe Dropping” presentation this past week, I was hoping for a “one more thing” moment that never came to be. However, my wish wasn’t for a budget-friendly MacBook, a foldable iPhone, the rumored Apple Ring or even a HomePod with an iPad-like screen.
While we did get to see the new iPhone 17 series, the highly-anticipated iPhone Air, the AirPods Pro 3 and the Apple Watch Series 11, part of me was hoping that Apple would finally get back into a business it exited almost a decade ago. Although I never had an AirPort Wi-Fi router of my own, I know from those that did, they were some of the most beloved Apple products.
Unfortunately, the iPhone maker decided to call it quits on its router line just before the arrival of what myself and many others consider the biggest breakthrough in Wi-Fi tech yet — and no, I’m not talking about Wi-Fi 7. Apple's exit from the Wi-Fi business still hurts to this day and that’s why I’ve had my fingers crossed that Apple would reinvent Wi-Fi in the same way it did with smartphones and portable music before that.
Apple may not have announced a new take on Wi-Fi connectivity alongside the iPhone 17 but thanks to its continued work on Apple Silicon, the company is in the perfect position to do just that. Here’s what I think a modern AirPort router could look like and what it could do to shake up the industry we may not give much thought to but rely on every day.
A brief history of Apple's AirPort
While Apple’s new N1 wireless chip got a brief mention during the iPhone Air reveal, the company's first AirPort product did actually get the “one more thing” treatment all the way back in 1999. You see, the original AirPort arrived as both a base station or router and as an optional expansion card for the predecessor to the MacBook, the iBook.
Then a few years later, Apple took things up a notch with the AirPort Extreme. Just like the original, it was available as both a router and as a Wi-Fi expansion card. Then Apple released the AirPort Express; besides being more compact, it was also a travel router and even a streaming audio receiver that let you play music over Wi-Fi through AirTunes, the precursor to AirPlay.
In 2013, Apple released its fifth and final generation AirPort Extreme base station (pictured above) before disbanding its router team in 2016 and finally discontinuing the entire AirPort product line in 2018. It was truly the end of a Wi-Fi era for the company but another tech giant swooped in to take its place, albeit with a big Wi-Fi trick up its sleeve.
Abandoning Wi-Fi right before the mesh breakthrough
Apple’s AirPort base stations took a similar approach to the best Wi-Fi routers you see today. However, Google’s own Google Wifi and then Nest Wifi devices take a different approach. Instead of just a single, traditional router, the search giant went all in on the best mesh Wi-Fi systems from day one. Doing so solved one of Wi-Fi’s biggest problems: Wi-Fi dead zones.
With a regular Wi-Fi router, you just have one device that provides wireless connectivity to your phone, laptop, streaming devices etc. However, in multi-story and larger homes, this just doesn’t do it and you’re left with places throughout your house where you just can’t get a signal. With a mesh router or mesh Wi-Fi system, you have several devices with one serving as the main router and the rest acting as satellites that spread its signal even further.
Upgrading to a mesh router was a real game changer personally, as it meant I no longer had to deal with Wi-Fi dead zones. Likewise, I didn’t have to worry about switching between different Wi-Fi networks at home like you often have to do with one of the best Wi-Fi extenders.
One of my favorite things about the Nest Wifi Pro I tested out a few years back is that it takes advantage of the rest of Google’s ecosystem. For instance, here I’m using one of the best smart displays to run a speed test on my home network and I can even see the results right on its screen. While Google ditched it with the Nest Wifi Pro, its previous mesh Wi-Fi system also came with the same functionality found in the best smart speakers baked into every device.
Compared to Google, one of the best things that Apple has going for it, if the company ever re-entered the Wi-Fi game, is its ecosystem. It’s quite rare to own just a single Apple device and once you pick up one of the best iPhones, it’s very likely you’ll also get a Mac, an iPad and even a pair of AirPods to go with it. Now imagine if all those devices worked together in your home network the same way that Apple’s Find My network does. The possibilities are almost endless, but Apple has another way to set itself apart in the world of home networking, its own custom chips and all the work that has gone into Apple Silicon over the past few years.
Mesh Wi-Fi but with the power of Apple Silicon
Just like Google does with its mesh routers, Apple also used third-party chips with its AirPort and AirPort Extreme base stations but this time around, the company is in the perfect position to use its own silicon. With the iPhone, it too used third-party wireless chips, specifically modem chips from Qualcomm.
However, after a lengthy legal dispute and acquiring Intel’s modem business, Apple developed its own modem in the form of the C1 chip which debuted in the iPhone 16e.
Now with the iPhone Air, though, we’re getting an upgraded version of this modem called C1X which will work alongside the company’s new N1 wireless chip that provides Wi-Fi 7 connectivity alongside Bluetooth 6 and Thread support. This is the continuation of Apple’s silicon expansion which began when the company ditched Intel’s chips for its own M chips in its Mac products.
If Apple can build a modem and wireless chip for its phones from scratch, who’s to say it can’t do the same thing with routers. This would give a revived AirPort router line a big step up over the competition while allowing the company to control everything about how these new wireless devices are made and work from top to bottom.
For instance, have you ever bought a new Apple device, turned it on and the rest of your Apple devices immediately recognize and work with it? Well, what if the company brought this same “it just works” experience to home networking. No more fiddling with QR codes or default passwords, just plug in your new Apple router and every device in your home immediately connects to it.
I’ll give Apple credit where it’s due — by adding Wi-Fi 7 support to the entire iPhone 16 lineup, the company really helped spur the adoption of the best Wi-Fi 7 routers. We’re still waiting for Wi-Fi 7 on the Mac side as the MacBook Air M4, MacBook Pro M4 and the Mac mini M4 are still stuck on Wi-Fi 6E. Maybe Apple could have the release of its first Wi-Fi 7-powered Macs coincide with its return to the Wi-Fi router business, though.
Given that the N1 chip comes with Thread support, a refreshed AirPort router with a big focus on smart home connectivity would also make a lot of sense. This too could work really nicely with that rumored HomePod with an iPad-like screen we’ve been hearing about for what seems like years now. The same is true for Apple TV and a Wi-Fi 7-powered Apple router would really improve the experience of streaming new shows and movies from Apple TV Plus.
Apple is also really well known for putting the privacy and security of its users first, and taking this approach with a new router or better yet, a mesh router would make a lot of sense too. From improved parental controls to security safeguards that extend to every device on your home network, this is another area where Apple could easily distinguish itself without having to rely on third parties to do so.
Since Apple likes to have full control over its product lines from hardware to software, a new take on its AirPort routers would let the company extend this even further. From blocking intrusive ads to isolating more risky, third-party devices on your home network, there’s so much it could do. Likewise, it could intelligently throttle bandwidth to its own devices to improve the overall experience.
For instance, if you’re downloading a new movie, it could prioritize your Apple TV’s traffic while slowing down that of your iPhone, iPad or Mac to speed up the process to allow you to watch it sooner.
As close as you can get to an Apple router (for now)
With every Apple event I cover going forward, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for a refreshed AirPort router or mesh Wi-Fi system. Knowing Apple though, if this does happen, the name will probably be dead simple, so for now, my best guess is “Apple Wi-Fi.”
This would also be an easy win for Cupertino too as unlike the Apple Car or even the Vision Pro, everyone from the less tech savvy to the most knowledgeable people use Wi-Fi everyday. And if Apple could come up with one of its unique, standout features that only its products working together with its other devices could achieve, then I’m sure Apple Wi-Fi would likely be a day-one purchase for a lot of its users.
While we might never get a modern take on Apple’s AirPort routers, I still recommend investing in your own networking equipment to make the best use of your existing Apple devices. I’ve tried several different mesh Wi-Fi systems from a number of brands over the years but if you want the closest thing to an Apple-like experience, then I’d say getting a mesh router from Amazon’s eero is your best bet right now.
Eero’s extremely well-engineered and aesthetically-pleasing mesh routers come as close to scratching that Apple itch as you can get. The company’s app is streamlined and incredibly simple to use and since updates are downloaded as well as installed automatically, the eero devices I’ve tried have that “just works” feel to them too.
If you’re a home networking power user with a lot of wired devices and the fast internet speeds you can get, I’d recommend the larger eero Max 7. For those that want a similar but less expensive Wi-Fi 7-powered experience, then the eero Pro 7 is a great choice. Meanwhile, if you want a mesh kit that small with satellites that are easy to hide around your home, the Wi-Fi 6-powered eero 6+ is an even more affordable option.
Big companies like Apple are spending so much time, effort and money chasing AI and the next big thing, they’re forgetting about one of the most essential devices we use every day. With Apple Silicon and the advancements it has made in design since ending its AirPort line, Apple has a chance to truly revolutionize Wi-Fi in a way that no other company currently does.
Hopefully, Apple takes advantage of this and realizes the benefits doing so could bring instead of just trying to make its current devices thinner and lighter. Only time will tell if Apple does decide to get back into the Wi-Fi business but in the meantime, I’ll be on the lookout for a new Apple router at every one of its future events.
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