Apple Now Selling Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi System But Will Continue Offering AirPort Line

by

Apple recently began selling the Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi System both online and in its retail stores, marking the first router the company has offered aside from its own rather outdated AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and AirPort Time Capsule.

Apple has not updated the AirPort Time Capsule or the AirPort Extreme since June of 2013, and it's been even longer since the AirPort Express was last updated -- 2012. A late 2016 rumor even suggested Apple had stopped development on its line of AirPort base stations entirely, disbanding its AirPort team and moving engineers to other projects.

linksysvelop

Two Node Linksys Velop System

Though Apple has not updated the AirPort line in years and is now selling a third-party WiFi system, the company appears to be planning to continue to offer AirPort options for the foreseeable future. In a statement provided to 9to5Mac, an Apple spokesperson said the Linksys Velop is an option being provided to people with larger homes alongside the AirPort.

People love our AirPort products and we continue to sell them. Connectivity is important in the home and we are giving customers yet another option that is well suited for larger homes.

While Apple is continuing to offer its AirPort base stations for now, the devices won't last forever sans update. Given Apple's move to sell a third-party Wi-Fi product, it's looking like the company does not have plans to update the lineup going forward.

The AirPort base stations provide several unique benefits that are not available with third-party options like built-in Time Machine backup support in the Time Capsule and AirPlay functionality for the AirPort Express. It's possible Apple has plans to incorporate these features and Wi-Fi networking functionality into a future product, but if so, there are no rumors suggesting that's the case at this point.

airport roundup

Apple's AirPort lineup

The Linksys Velop that Apple is offering is designed to create a tri-band high-range mesh network able to provide a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the home, putting an end to areas where Wi-Fi signal is weak. The Velop consists of multiple Nodes used to create an extended Wi-Fi network. Each of the Nodes is able to increase Wi-Fi range by up to 2,000 square feet, and because it increases range wirelessly, there are no wires to deal with.

Apple sells the Velop in two configurations, with either two or three nodes, for $349 or $499.

Tag: Mesh Routers
Related Forum: Networking

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
Read Full Article • 104 comments
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
Read Full Article • 57 comments
iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday January 18, 2026 3:51 pm PST by
iOS 27 is still many months away, but there are already plenty of rumors about new features that will be included in the software update. The first beta of iOS 27 will be released during WWDC 2026 in June, and the update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense...
Read Full Article • 105 comments
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

MacBook Pro Buyers Now Facing Up to a Two-Month Wait Ahead of New Models

Sunday January 18, 2026 6:50 pm PST by
MacBook Pro availability is tightening on Apple's online store, with select configurations facing up to a two-month delivery timeframe in the United States. A few 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro configurations with an M4 Pro chip are not facing any shipping delay, but estimated delivery dates for many configurations with an M4 Max chip range from February 6 to February 24 or even later. At...
Read Full Article • 86 comments
Liquid Glass App Store Feature

App Store and Apple TV Experiencing Outage

Tuesday January 20, 2026 4:36 pm PST by
Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple TV service are experiencing an outage at the current time, according to Apple's System Status page. Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with the App Store and iTunes Store. Apple also says some users may be seeing intermittent issues with Apple TV. The Apple TV Channels feature is down too, and users may be unable to access some...
Read Full Article • 42 comments

Top Rated Comments

Chupa Chupa Avatar
Chupa Chupa
105 months ago
O.M.G. just put the poor AirPort line out of its misery and stop pushing it off on unsuspecting customers. Honestly, Apple still selling Airport -- at a not discounted price point either -- is the opposite of good customer services. It's in the realm of snake oil used car store polishing up a turd car. Also Velop isn't the answer but it's owned by Apple's new crap accessory pal Belkin.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
OldSchoolMacGuy
105 months ago
O.M.G. just put the poor AirPort line out of its misery and stop pushing it off on unsuspecting customers. Honestly, Apple still selling Airport -- at a not discounted price point either -- is the opposite of good customer services. It's in the realm of snake oil used car store polishing up a turd car.
What's the issue with the current AirPort Extreme? Offers the current speeds. Works better than most sub-$100 routers too.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macman8472 Avatar
Macman8472
105 months ago
As a Mac user for over 25 years. I am beginning to hate Apple trying to sell 3-5 year products at full price with old components/tech. Mac mini (HP have a much better PCmini), Mac Pro, (I know a new one is due, after 4+ yrs). The ridiculous requirement to take your new shiny iMac Pro to an Apple store or authorised dealer for additional RAM. Wasting precious driving time, precious waiting time etc. When it takes 3-5 mins on an iMac. No screens, 4K or 8K, no 17" laptop, no new iMac screen size, it's still 27" from 2009. We want 30", 32" or 34". Not just 27". Apple is now just a phone company. It manages to update the phones every year with minor updates. What about software Apple? Apple released loads of great software from Appleworks, iMovie, Aperture in the early days. When was Pages, numbers, keynote last updated (not dumbed down) with features to take on Microsoft?? Those products are useless for anyone apart from 10 year old kids. Business users and professionals have been screwed over by Apple with inferior products but with superior prices. Quality control means nothing to Apple anymore. Things don't work anymore, they always need fixes. Can't remember when Apple had anything innovative, in the last 10 yrs apart from the iPhone. Mac Users might as well get the highest spec models available and not replace it for at least 5 years. As only then will Apple have anything new worth upgrading to.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
FightTheFuture
105 months ago
Linksys products are what drove me to Airport. When I upgrade my Time Capsule, I'll likely go the Eero or Google Mesh route.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fatespawn Avatar
fatespawn
105 months ago
Just bought the Netgear Orbi system. So much better than extending an airport network ever was!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamiemcd Avatar
jamiemcd
105 months ago
I had a fifth generation AirPort Extreme that I replaced with an Eero three pack. I live in a typical two story house in a subdivision. The Eero had problems where certain iOS devices would need a static ip in order to work. Then other iOS devices would fail to connect or drop off when roaming the house.

I then purchased the Amplifi HD system. Same problems!

With family complaining about the Wi-Fi, I bought the sixth generation AirPort Extreme and a TP-Link AV2000 Powerline Adapter Kit. This allowed me to locate the single AirPort Extreme in the very center of the house, connected to the modem via the latest and fastest powerline adapter. It works great. I sold all the others on eBay.

I hope Wi-Fi routers have a future at Apple. I didn’t try the Veloop or Orbi mesh ones.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments