The year 2025 saw the discontinuation of several longstanding tech offerings, from dial-up internet to smartphone features and AI wearables. These changes reflect broader industry shifts toward AI priorities and streamlined ecosystems. While fewer high-profile shutdowns occurred compared to prior years, the losses evoked nostalgia for simpler digital eras.
Viewed through the lens of discontinued tech, 2025 proved quieter than predecessors like 2022, which bid farewell to the iPod, Google Stadia, and Internet Explorer. Nonetheless, notable endings dotted the landscape, affecting consumers and signaling evolving priorities.
AOL terminated its dial-up service in September, ending a 34-year run that once defined early web access with its distinctive modem sounds. This left some rural users, numbering around 2 million as recently as 2015, seeking alternatives for home internet.
In hardware, the Humane AI Pin, a voice-chat wearable launched amid hype, faded quickly. HP acquired the company in February, primarily for its talent, software, and patents, with little prospect of reviving the device amid competition from smartphones.
Apple phased out the physical home button with the iPhone SE's replacement by the buttonless iPhone 16E in February. Users now rely on gesture controls, though some report frustrations with screen recognition.
Micron's November pivot from consumer memory markets toward AI-driven high-bandwidth options underscores a industry trend, potentially exacerbating shortages for PC upgrades given the dominance of key players like Samsung and SK Hynix.
Software updates included Microsoft's replacement of the Windows blue screen of death with a black-background interface in its October OS release, aiming for a less alarming crash experience. Amazon closed its general Android app store in August after 14 years, refocusing on Fire device-exclusive apps.
Microsoft integrated Skype into its free Teams app in February, retiring the standalone VoIP pioneer acquired in 2011. Google ended app support for the first two generations of its Nest Learning Thermostat in October, stripping remote features and security updates from the 2011 device to push upgrades. Firmware upgrades for leftover Stadia controllers ceased by year's end, rendering unconverted units obsolete. Finally, a December US ban halted imports of foreign drones, complicating access to brands like DJI while existing units remain flyable.
