Apple's 16-Year-Old SuperDrive Now Out of Stock Worldwide, Likely Discontinued

[nathansz]

Its fine..Every single external drive on Amazon works just as well, or better, on modern macOS than the SuperDrive.

And most are cheaper

 

[StanleyOmar]

As an 80s kid and 90s teen, there is just something about disc based media that will always hold a special place in my heart.

And right now is a great time to buy used CDs given the price, and there are so many records that never made it to streaming. I actually end up using my Superdrive fairly regularly.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Last time I ripped some new CDs for use in iTunes? About five days ago. For some of us, ownership of our collection matters.

I ripped some cds a couple weeks ago on my m1 air, with an external Sony blu-ray drive. You don't need this drive to rip.

 

[zorinlynx]

You can still use most and random USB CD / DVD Drive from Amazon for under $20

Like this one https://a.co/d/iMFQZky

Yup. Also the SuperDrive was not a standard USB drive and had problems working on non-Macs. Any other USB optical drive you buy will work on any computer.

SuperDrive is not worth acquiring outside of it being a novelty.

 

[nathansz]

Yep. There is a hierarchy for post-apocalyptic civilisation reboot:

Analogue physical media (books and records).
Digital physical media (tapes, CD).
Hard drives.
Cloud (near useless).

Cassette tapes are analogue physical media, not digital

 

[Baseiseough]

Do you think it will be USB-C???

Yes and no. Latest reports say they are on track to release the SuperDrive 2 with the Thunderbolt 5 introduction. With 80 Gbps, it'll be able to burn a dual layer DVD in less than a second.

 

[alexandr]

Yes and no. Latest reports say they are on track to release the SuperDrive 2 with the Thunderbolt 5 introduction.

TAKE MY MONEY!!

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Yes and no. Latest reports say they are on track to release the SuperDrive 2 with the Thunderbolt 5 introduction.

Burn a cd in five seconds.

 

[skitidetdu]

As an 80s kid and 90s teen, there is just something about disc based media that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Just bought a new Denon CD-player since I never got rid of my collection like everyone else.

 

[skitidetdu]

I expect a bunch of old Apple accessories to be discontinued by the end of the year. Apple promised to remove the outer plastic wrap from all their product packagingby the end of 2024, and they’re not gonna go to the trouble of redesigning the packaging for ancient accessories.

Bought a new Magic Trackpad for $50 the other week from amazon. Figure a USB-C version is coming but I don't care about the charging connection on it.

 

[JohnC1959]

Dusted mine off just recently to rip some old CDs. There are other companies selling usb external cd drives.

 

[Baseiseough]

Burn a cd in five seconds.

The fireworks should be glorious!!

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Just bought a new Denon CD-player since I never got rid of my collection like everyone else.

I sold off my entire collection my senior year of high school (97-98) about the time that MP3 started showing up in IRC channels; I saw what was quickly coming down the line.

Now I'm rebuying my cd collection.. 😆

 

[dizmonk]

I bought it a decade ago. Still have it. Still occasionally use it.

 

[CIA]

I don't know why you would buy such out-dated tech when more modern external Blu-Ray UHD 4K drives/burners are available for a reasonable price.

 

[Minato1990]

You can still use most and random USB CD / DVD Drive from Amazon for under $20

Like this one https://a.co/d/iMFQZky

Guess I will get this one.
I forgot that I got the Sopranos dubbed in Japanese, and that I will be ripping the DVD's so I can have on my plex library.

 

[Radeon85]

Surprised they were still making them. Last time I ripped a CD must be 22yrs ago, got rid of all my physical media many years ago.

 

[nostradumbass]

Blu-ray SuperDrive and macOS playback support incoming mark my words I can see the future in my AI powered crystal ball.

 

[Crowbot]

As an 80s kid and 90s teen, there is just something about disc based media that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Apple used slot type drives. I always loved the way it would gently grab the disk and slide in. Very elegant. I still have one for the very few times I need to access a disk.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Apple used slot type drives. I always loved the way it would gently grab the disk and slide in. Very elegant. I still have one for the very few times I need to access a disk.

They didn't work for mini cd and dvd discs, though. We had a camcorder that recorded to mini-dvd.

 

[crazymac]

You can still use most and random USB CD / DVD Drive from Amazon for under $20

Like this one https://a.co/d/iMFQZky

Thanks. I needed a cheap one, I have a bunch of old CD Roms laying around and need to put them on the computer or in the cloud.

 

[fricotin]

12 years old now and still works fine downloading library DVDs using MakeMKV on my 2012 mini.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I have one still, I got it when I got my first ever Mac. MacBook Air 2011 and SuperDrive still works fine though not used it for while. I used it lot years ago especially during my uni days back then and now it rare need it but I will keep it in case any reason pop up I need to use it.

I remember most DVD players for PC/Mac always need 2 cables, one for plug in computer and other for mains power. SuperDrive was one of very few only need 1 cable for it to work!

 

[sflagel]

Cassette tapes are analogue physical media, not digital

Yes I was on the fence on that one. But you need a decider to listen to magnetic tape. You only need a needle and a piece of paper to listen to a record. And just a pair of eyes for a book. I wanted to make that distinction.

 

[lotones]

From my cold, dead hands.

SuperDrive ∞.

"I-ye-iiiiii, will all-waaays love you-ooooooo..."