Apple is now selling Amazon’s Eero mesh routers on its website
Amazon’s Eero announced today that its routers are now for sale on Apple’s website. The full product line, including the Eero and Eero Pro Mesh Wi-Fi Routers, are available to customers in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. Eero did not specify whether its products will be available in Apple’s retail stores as they reopen.
“This is an exciting step towards delivering our vision to bring eero to more customers and homes around the world, providing them with a safe and reliable network for their smart home,” Eero’s blog post reads.
Apple already sells mesh Wi-Fi systems from Linksys and Netgear, but it does not commonly sell Amazon products, many of which directly compete with its own offerings. Amazon didn’t start selling Apple products until late 2018 (and its selections are still limited compared to what you’ll find at other retailers, such as Best Buy).
The move marks another step in a new collaboration between the two tech giants that’s been several months in the making. Eero announced HomeKit support for its routers back in February, which allowed users to integrate Eero routers with Apple’s Home app.
It’s also another sign that Apple is giving up on the router game. The company attempted to break into that sphere with its AirPort line back in 1999, but it disbanded its hardware division responsible for routers in 2016 and officially discontinued the products in 2018. At the time, the company said it might reenter the market sometime in the future, but selling more third-party routers makes that look unlikely.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/13/21257391/eero-amazon-routers-apple-store-mesh-wifi-available-now-release