In memoriam: 5 once-great products Apple killed in 2022

It’s been an eventful year for Apple. Not only did we get a new iPhone and iPad, updates to the Apple TV and AirPods Pro, a new standalone display, and a slew of software features, but we also got the first brand-new Mac and Apple Watch in years. But among all those new products, Apple also killed several older devices in 2022. Here are five Apple devices you won’t find for sale on Apple.com anymore.

Apple Watch Series 3

If there was one product we would have bet a bundle on reaching retirement age in 2022 it would have been the Apple Watch Series 3. Approaching its 5-year birthday with an aging design, pokey chip, and single sensor, it was overpriced at half of its $199 MSRP. Unfortunately, its demise means there isn’t an Apple Watch that starts under $200 anymore, but the Apple Watch SE 2, which received a price cut to $249, is a better bargain anyway.

iPhone 11

fotolia.de / John Smith / Apple

Losing the oldest iPhone model to make way for the new one at the top of the lineup isn’t anything new, but the discontinuation of the iPhone 11 is notable. Now, all three non-SE iPhone lines Apple sells–the iPhone 12, 13, and 14–all have the same design, and Apple doesn’t sell an iPhone that doesn’t support 5G. There are rumors that the iPhone 11’s design will be recycled for the next iPhone SE, but for now, pour one out for rounded edges.

Apple TV HD

IDG

The Apple TV HD was great in 2015, but it’s been a terrible buy for years. Costing just $20 less than the Apple TV 4K, it was the worst kind of budget device: slower and inferior in every way yet cosmetically identical to the better model. Apple completely shuffled the Apple TV lineup in 2022 and pushed out the Apple TV HD for good—and we won’t miss it.

iPod touch

IDG

We really wanted the iPod touch to have a comeback, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead of a redesigned model with a full-screen design, A12 processor, and a headphone jack, Apple discontinued the last remaining iPod this year with little fanfare other than a promise that music players will live on at Apple. That may be true, but there’s nothing in Apple’s lineup quite like the iPod touch–an inexpensive device that does everything an iPhone can do except make calls. The iPod touch deserved better.

27-inch iMac

Apple

When Apple launched the 27-inch Studio Display alongside the Mac Studio in March, it meant two things: Mac fans could finally buy an affordable standalone display from Apple again, and the 27-inch iMac was redundant. Apple wasted no time in removing it from the store–as soon as the event was over it was gone. There have been persistent rumors that Apple may bring back the large-screen iMac, but 24 inches is as big as you can get now. We like the M1 iMac, but we’d love a bigger version.