Apple Discontinued These Four Products This Year, But One Will Return

[sracer]

I wish they had updated the SuperDrive in its later years. Yes, you can buy cheap drives on Amazon but you tend to get what you pay for.

I have both the SuperDrive and one of those "cheap drives on Amazon" (with a mechanical tray). I still regularly use both to rip my audio CDs (I never stopped buying physical media) and to burn .mp3 CDs. The quality of that cheap drive is no different than the SuperDrive.

 

[StuBeck]

I found a heavily discounted FineWoven case for my 15 Pro, bought it out of curiosity to see how truly terrible it is. After 2 days use there was already a circle on the back from charging it via magsafe that doesn’t seem to go away, and after 2 weeks the edge of the fabric where it meets the sides is a slightly darker colour than the rest of the back.

But you saved the environment!

 

[Hank001]

I found a heavily discounted FineWoven case for my 15 Pro, bought it out of curiosity to see how truly terrible it is. After 2 days use there was already a circle on the back from charging it via magsafe that doesn’t seem to go away, and after 2 weeks the edge of the fabric where it meets the sides is a slightly darker colour than the rest of the back.

by far one of Apple's worst products. I can't believe that garbage even passed preliminary quality testing.

Yeah they were shockingly bad cases where it was clear very little testing was done on durability before releasing to market. The fact they were charging £59 for them arrogantly knowing people would buy them because they are Apple was really poor. Someone I know is using one and when I saw it at the 6 month mark, it was fraying on the edges!

I think McKay got things haywire: the point of the product, the iPhone case, is to protect the iPhone. So, when you take the iPhone out of the case, is it still in pristine condition?

 

[Hank001]

Haven't checked other countries but for US and Canadian sites, it also appears that the 30-pin dock cable might be going away as well. RIP, you served us well.

View attachment 2441520

Seems that they also stopped selling the TTY...(with the original iPhone as the hero.jgp)

It would be nice if authors, like Joe Rossignol, investigate while writing an article. And fact check before posting. Thank you.

 

[jimbobb24]

No superdrive? I still buy CDs and rip them. Hope mine lasts forever.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Seems that they also stopped selling the TTY...(with the original iPhone as the hero.jgp)

It would be nice if authors, like Joe Rossignol, investigate while writing an article. And fact check before posting. Thank you.

I'd forgotten about the recessed 3.5mm jack on the iPhone 1

That was ... less than ideal

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think McKay got things haywire: the point of the product, the iPhone case, is to protect the iPhone. So, when you take the iPhone out of the case, is it still in pristine condition?

That is part of the purpose of a case, the other is to not wear out and look rubbish in a very short space of time, especially when it’s an expensive product.

 

[minik]

Bring back the MagSafe Duo.

May as well bringing back the AirPort Extreme line up and/or 12-inch MacBook, I'm sure this is a tall order.

 

[Dreww]

My Powerbeats are my favorite headphones for running. I first bought the Powerbeats Pro, but I had those same charging case/syncing issues as others.

I bought the Powerbeats since they’re wired together, and because it charges via its lightning port, rather than a separate case. I’d love to see an update to the Powerbeats someday. I still enjoy using my Powerbeats Pro around the house, though my AirPods Max are my favorite home headphones.

I still use my SuperDrive regularly with my iMac + Studio Display, mainly for DVD special features & commentaries. I’d happily buy an Apple Blu-ray SuperDrive.

 

[StuBeck]

My Powerbeats are my favorite headphones for running. I first bought the Powerbeats Pro, but I had those same charging case/syncing issues as others.

I bought the Powerbeats since they’re wired together, and because it charges via its lightning port, rather than a separate case. I’d love to see an update to the Powerbeats someday. I still enjoy using my Powerbeats Pro around the house, though my AirPods Max are my favorite home headphones.

I still use my SuperDrive regularly with my iMac + Studio Display, mainly for DVD special features & commentaries. I’d happily buy an Apple Blu-ray SuperDrive.

My fear is that the reviewers of the new powerbeats aren't going to know about the issues with the first gen and never test the charging properly. I only had intermittent issues the forst few years, but this year, mine are both charging terribly, randomly, and there doesn't seem to be any indication there is an actual way to solve it.

 

[Cwoods]

Legit question, what’s wrong with using vegan leather?

 

[StuBeck]

Legit question, what’s wrong with using vegan leather?

Nothing. The core idea I believe was to capitalize on the recycling movement, while also re-selling unsold products for a profit.

 

[Dreww]

My fear is that the reviewers of the new powerbeats aren't going to know about the issues with the first gen and never test the charging properly. I only had intermittent issues the forst few years, but this year, mine are both charging terribly, randomly, and there doesn't seem to be any indication there is an actual way to solve it.

Yes, I agree completely. I love the Powerbeats' ear hook design, but the charging issues are disappointing and frustrating. Any subsequent improvements should be a primary focus in future reviews.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Bring back the iPod Shuffle!

 

[transmaster]

I’m quite happy with my old SuperDrive. Great for downloading the music CDs I buy - especially the ones NOT in iTunes.
Is there a replacement or is this just to force us to use their online whatevers???

That is exactly the reason why I got one. As I said above it was detected in my system as a Yamaha drive this happens to be my go to brand for audio stuff. I wasn't going to spend the money on a Oppo drive because I rarely use one, only for ripping CD, and music DVD's.

 

[transmaster]

Otterbox has Magsafe iPhone cases made with Cactus Leather. The Symmetry Series Cactus Leather for MagSafe It would be interesting to compare it with the discontinued Apple FineWoven case.

 

[transmaster]

Bring back the iPod Shuffle!

I liked the iPod Nano.

 

[Hank001]

Bring back the iPod Shuffle!

Still using mine. In the bath, with wired headphones and clip the shuffle to my hair. I used APP before, but those fall out of my ears, at some point.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

I wonder if the Powerbeats Pro 2 will be able to use Apple's new Hearing Aid feature that was just introduced for the AirPods Pro 2.

 

[Dr McKay]

I think McKay got things haywire: the point of the product, the iPhone case, is to protect the iPhone. So, when you take the iPhone out of the case, is it still in pristine condition?

Every other case I’ve ever owned in various materials has managed the job without showing wear and tear within the first year or so 🤷‍♂️

 

[seek3r]

I wish they had updated the SuperDrive in its later years. Yes, you can buy cheap drives on Amazon but you tend to get what you pay for.

I have one, it’s a solid drive sure, and the build quality is good, but it’s finicky on power draw and if I’d gotten it new instead of for $10 at a garage sale it would have been expensive. For the money it would have cost new you dont need to buy a cheap drive on amazon, you can buy one with as good build quality if you care about that’ll also be a better less finicky drive

 

[brofkand]

I found a heavily discounted FineWoven case for my 15 Pro, bought it out of curiosity to see how truly terrible it is. After 2 days use there was already a circle on the back from charging it via magsafe that doesn’t seem to go away, and after 2 weeks the edge of the fabric where it meets the sides is a slightly darker colour than the rest of the back.

Frankly the same happened to the leather cases as well, unless you got a dark color.

 

[brofkand]

I wish they had updated the SuperDrive in its later years. Yes, you can buy cheap drives on Amazon but you tend to get what you pay for.

For people who routinely use optical media, the best solution is a 5.25" tray loading SATA drive. If you're using a modern Mac, it'll have to be in a USB enclosure. In my experience these are far more reliable than any of the small drives.

 

[Johne1]

I remember when I used to buy music on a disc…. I had a Sony Discman! Those were the days!

I remember when singles came out on 78-RPM records, then the industry upgraded to 45-RPM records with the latest hits. Now I see young people are discovering analog music, buying record players and scouring record shops for albums. My teen years are being recycled. 😂

 

[sjsharksfan12]

The fine woven case was outlived by the cleaning cloth. That was such a strange thing, and it came out of the whole Ms. Nature skit with Octavia Spencer. I'm sure she was not pleased they discontinued the case.