11 Products You Used to Love That Apple Has Quietly Killed Say hello to the Apple Watch and iPhone 6. Say goodbye to the products that have been retired.
By Karyne Levy
This story originally appeared on Business Insider
After the dust settled down from the Apple event earlier this month, people noticed something quite sad: Apple quietly killed the iPod Classic, the only iPod to still use the "click wheel."
The largest size was 160GB, and could hold 40,000 songs. And fans of the device took the news pretty hard.
But this wasn't the first time that Apple quietly killed older products when new products were announced.
Original Apple earbuds
iPod and iPhone owners can be most easily spotted by the white cords coming out of their ears. The iconic white earbuds have been shipping with the company's portable devices since the very first iPod was released in 2001.
The earbuds were updated through the years with slight modifications and additions, such as an inline remote that came with the third-gen Shuffle and an inline remote and mic, which shipped starting with the iPhone 3GS.
But in 2012, with the release of the iPhone 5, Apple completely changed the design, as well as the name with the introduction of the Apple EarPod.
AppleSquare-shaped iPod Nano
Apple introduced the iPod Nano in 2005, when Steve Jobs pointed to the watch pocket in his jeans and asked, "Ever wonder what this pocket is for?"
The Nano went through many iterations, but the sixth-generation version, which was released in 2010, was something special. It featured a 1.55-inch touchscreen and, when coupled with a watchband accessory, could be used as a pretty awesome watch.
In 2012, Apple announced the seventh-generation Nano, chucking the square design, going back to the rectangle shape of yesteryear, and leaving all those awesome watchbands in the dust.
30-pin charger
Apple's proprietary 30-pin connector cable was used to charge Apple's products, until the Lightning cable was introduced in 2012.
The coolest part about the Lightning cable is that it can fit in the device in any direction, so you don't have to fiddle around with a cord when you need a quick power boost. But with a new proprietary cable, people had to scramble to replace all their accessories that used the 30-pin connector. Not to mention hotels everywhere that provide alarm clocks with built-in 30-pin docks.
iWeb
The iLife suite of apps available for Apple computers includes iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand. With iLife '06, Apple introduced iWeb, an easy-t0-use website- and blog-building app. iWeb included many Apple-made themes and background designs, and offered users templates and ways to integrate with other apps in the iLife suite.
It had a good run, but in 2012, Apple transitioned into iCloud, killing of iWeb in the process. And support for a million Apple-looking websites and blogs were killed in the process.
Apple Insider32GB iPhones
The iPhone 3GS was the first phone to include the 32GB storage capacity, joining its 8GB and 16GB brethren. The iPhone 4S came in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, and so did the iPhone 5 and 5S (the iPhone 5C came in only 16GB and 32GB versions).
But with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple skipped 32GB, and instead offers the phone in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB. And some people are not happy about this at all.
iPhone 5
When the iPhone 5S and 5C were announced in 2013, Apple discontinued the iPhone 5. This was an interesting move because in the past, Apple had used its previous-generation phones to fill a lower price point, usually $99. But in this case, the company kept the iPhone 4S as the lower-price-point filler, and got rid of the iPhone 5 altogether.
It didn't matter to most people, however, since the iPhone 5C was basically the same phone as the 5, with some minor tweaks (a few better specs), as well as some major differences (the iPhone 5C comes in a range of colors and a polycarbonate shell, compared with the iPhone 5's metal design).
AppleNon-Retina Display iPad 2
The iPad 2 was released in 2011, and was a huge redesign from the first-generation iPad. It came in black and white, was compatible with the magnetic Smart Cover, and was the first iPad to feature a front-facing camera.
But after three years (which, let's face it, is a lifetime in the world of gadgets), Apple found that more people were buying the iPad Mini with the higher-resolution Retina Display, which was offered at the same $399 price point, and put the non-Retina iPad 2 out to pasture.
Steve Kovach, Business InsideriPad 3 (the 'new' iPad)
Speaking of iPads: The iPad 3 (or, as Apple called it, the "new" iPad) was released in March 2012, and promptly discontinued in October of the same year with the release of the iPad 4 (as well as the iPad Mini).
And people were not very happy about it.
AppleWhite MacBook
Ah, the white MacBook. It launched in 2006 and was on the low end of the family of MacBooks, behind the MacBook Pro and later the MacBook Air. It was aimed at consumer and education markets.
When Apple launched the Air in 2011, it discontinued the white MacBook, but still sold the computer to schools. It then truly discontinued the laptop in 2012.
Mac App Store screenshotAperture and iPhoto
After its developer conference this year, Apple said that it was shuttering iPhoto and there would be "no new development" of Aperture. Instead the company would put its focus on an all-encompassing photo solution, simply called Photos.
And imaging pros were not happy.
iPod Classic
The Classic debuted a few months after the first iPhone in 2007, and was the only iPod to still use the "click wheel." The largest size, at 160GB, could hold 40,000 songs.
But after the iPhone 6 event, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the Classic was no longer available for purchase.
