The best Apple tech that’s gone forever

Macworld

Throughout its history, Apple has introduced many industry-changing technologies, some of which are still present in today’s devices, like MagSafe on MacBooks. However, some of the technologies introduced by Apple have been discontinued over time for different reasons.

While most of these decisions are understandable, some technologies were ahead of their time, and I really miss them today. Let’s look back at some of Apple’s best ideas that were discontinued but ahead of their time and deserve to come back.

3D Touch

Although 3D Touch was first introduced with the original Apple Watch as “Force Touch,” Apple later added it to the iPhone. I remember seeing the iPhone 6s introduction video in 2015 with Jony Ive explaining how 3D Touch worked, and it sounded impressive. Indeed, it was.

Essentially, Apple put pressure sensors under the iPhone’s screen so that it could distinguish a soft press from a hard press with extreme precision. 3D Touch could be used in many ways, such as pressing harder on an icon to reveal more options or gently pressing a link on a webpage to see a preview of it. Game developers could also adopt 3D Touch for custom controls.




You can still perform the 3D Touch action on today’s iPhones, but the result is different.Filipe Esposito

The technology blew my mind, and I loved how precise it was. Not only that, but 3D Touch worked very well with the iPhone’s haptic feedback. It was so satisfying. But in practice, only a few apps added support for 3D Touch, and it was a very complex and expensive technology to build.

Apple ended up discontinuing 3D Touch, starting with the iPhone XR, and replaced some of the actions with a simple long press on the screen. I still dream of future iPhones having 3D Touch back. Luckily, the trackpads on MacBooks still have Force Touch, so that’s something.

AirPort

AirPort was Apple’s lineup of wireless routers. First introduced in 1999, AirPort devices always had a futuristic design and made it easy for users to plug in an internet cable and have a Wi-Fi connection at home.

While the first version looked like a spaceship, one of the most interesting versions of the AirPort was the model that looked like a giant MacBook charger that had an ethernet port on it. There was also the sleek and modern AirPort Extreme, which was essentially a mini-tower made of polished white plastic. That thing was beautiful.




The AirPort line once had a tower form factor (left) and a design that was like a MacBook power adapter (left).Apple

Apple’s AirPorts gained many cool features over time. For example, you could plug a USB stick, printer, or external hard drive into it, and all your Apple devices would have wireless access to it. It could also turn wired sound systems into AirPlay speakers.

AirPort also resulted in another product called Time Capsule, which had an internal hard drive to wirelessly back up your Mac.

Apple stopped selling AirPorts in 2018, and while rumors suggest that Apple has no plans to introduce another Wi-Fi router anytime soon, the company has reportedly been exploring the idea of making Apple TVs and HomePods work as Wi-Fi signal extenders. I really hope that’s true.

iPod

A lot has changed since Apple introduced the first iPod in 2001. iPod wasn’t just a good product, it also made anyone using it look cool. I remember upgrading from a Discman to an iPod, and I felt like I was in the future. “A thousand songs in your pocket,” as Apple’s slogan went.




The third-generation iPod nano. Filipe Esposito

There have been many different versions of the iPod over the years, including the iPod touch, but the most iconic ones will always be the iPods with a Click Wheel. There was a unique and satisfying feeling in turning your finger on that wheel to navigate the interface. It was unlike anything else at the time.

And although the product was once a hit, it ended up losing the battle to smartphones. Apple knew this, which is why the company has always promoted the iPhone as “the best iPod ever.” Suddenly, our phones could also work as great iPods, so having a dedicated music player no longer made sense for most people.

Apple stopped selling the iPod shuffle and iPod nano in 2017, while the iPod touch remained in the lineup until 2022. The company said at the time that the iPod still lives on in its other products, and that’s true. Thanks to the iPod, we now have the iPhone, AirPods, and the HomePod.

While some people are nostalgic about the iPod and want it back, I really believe that it served its purpose and that there are better alternatives now, like using an Apple Watch with AirPods if you want to listen to music without having your phone nearby.

Cover Flow

How could I forget Cover Flow? The cool iPod interface that lets users explore their music library by its art covers? Interestingly, Cover Flow was created by a third-party developer, and the idea was so good that Apple acquired it to implement it in iTunes. The feature was eventually added to the iPod, iPhone, and even Finder on the Mac to browse files with large previews.

I remember using the original iPod touch for the first time, rotating the screen with the Music app open, and seeing the Cover Flow interface. That was probably the moment I fell in love with that product.




Cover Flow on an iPod touch.Filipe Esposito

Cover Flow went away with iOS 7, when Apple completely redesigned the iPhone’s operating system in favor of a flat-design interface with less skeuomorphism. But Apple should bring Cover Flow back. It would be a good feature to reintroduce with iOS 19, as the company is rumored to be changing the user interface all over again.

Front Row

Similar to Cover Flow, Front Row was an interface that Apple created to use the Mac as a multimedia center. The app made it easier to navigate between the user’s music, videos, and photos. The experience of using Front Row was really cool, especially when the Mac was connected to a big monitor or TV.

With Front Row, it was easy to imagine what a multimedia device (like a DVD player) from Apple would look like. Apple never launched a DVD player, but it did announce the first Apple TV in 2007–it had the same interface as Front Row, but now in a standalone device.

Front Row was later removed from the Mac, probably because Apple wants you to buy an Apple TV instead. Still, I miss Front Row, especially now with Apple Music and Apple TV+.




Front Row provided an easy-to-use interface for using your Mac as an entertainment center.Apple

iSight camera

Pretty much every Apple device today has a built-in front-facing camera, but there was a time when that wasn’t a thing, and Apple had to create its own webcam for the Mac.

Called iSight, Apple’s webcam had a beautiful design for its time (which still looks modern). It was definitely something you’d look at and think, “that’s an Apple product.” The iSight had decent specs for a 2003 webcam, with a three-element lens with autofocus and 480p resolution at 30fps. It also had built-in microphones with noise cancellation and a cool way to cover the lens for better privacy.

We now have 1080p and even 4K webcams built into our devices, but there’s still a market for external webcams with larger sensors and better microphones for those who videoconference every day. Although this would be very niche, I would like to see Apple reintroduce iSight with a large 4K sensor for vloggers. Unfortunately, this seems quite unlikely to happen since Apple itself has released a feature that lets users turn their iPhone into a webcam for their Mac or Apple TV.




The iSight webcam design would look great in today’s Apple lineup.Christopher Phin

Back to the future

Apple is known for not reviving things from the past very often, even when it’s something its users really love. Still, we can dream of some of these things coming back in the future–just look at MagSafe, which was removed from MacBooks and then added back years later. And even though some of these technologies may not seem relevant these days, they certainly contributed to improving the Apple ecosystem at the time.