Perhaps one of the most criticized points for the 'reduced' version of Apple's official router, the Airport Express, is the inability to connect any type of external storage to make backup copies or simply share files since until now the USB port was reserved simply for connecting and sharing a printer.
It is now known that Apple may have considered the option of including support for USB hard drives in the AirPort Express that was launched in June 2012. This information has been discovered thanks to the French website Du Lapin which according to an old support manual available in pdf format, there is a section that suggests that a USB hard drive or USB hub can be connected to the AirPort Express, allowing all computers on the network to have access to those devices.
Connect a self-powered USB hard drive to the AirPort Express. All computers on the AirPort network can now access the information on the hard drive. Connect a USB hub to the AirPort Express to connect multiple USB devices such as printers or hard drives. All computers on the AirPort network can access these devices.
These references are not in the final product manual [PDF], which only includes a section on connecting a USB printer to the device. USB hard drive compatibility would have potentially allowed a lower-cost router like the AirPort Express to function in the same way as Apple's more expensive AirPort Extreme, possibly causing it to not be included in the final product after all.
While Apple AirPort Extreme has a cost of 199 euros and includes the possibility of connecting to a USB hard drive so that all computers on the network can be accessed for file sharing and storage, the AirPort Express with a price of 99 euros it is still the 'low' range of entry as a WiFi solution and repeater of the Airport Extreme or Time Capsule.