With almost 30 new products released in 2024, Apple also discontinued a bunch of older gadgets this year. Some of the devices Apple stopped selling this year have been controversial during their lifespan, so we thought we’d take one last look back.
Here, we’ll cover all of the most controversial products that Apple stopped selling in 2024.
FineWoven cases
Apple’s leather case replacement was a flop. The FineWoven products were controversial, and the company quickly addressed this issue by removing the iPhone cases from store shelves and rebranding the other FineWoven products to avoid more backlash. Nevertheless, users can still get FineWoven Wallets and Apple Watch bands.
Unfortunately, Apple didn’t come up with an alternative. Instead, its subsidiary Beats released a plastic case for the iPhone 16. They’re great, but not as good as the leather versions.
AirPods Max (Lightning)
AirPods Max are Apple’s premium headphones that lasted long enough to become controversial. While they have beautiful construction, impressive sound quality, and all the features that make AirPods so magical, they never sold as well as Apple wanted.
For four years, customers waited for a second iteration of these headphones. Instead, they got a USB-C version with almost the same features (other than support for wired listening). While AirPods Max are still superb, they’re steeped in controversy: They’re heavy, the carrying case isn’t practical, and they lack proper Find My capabilities, Lossless support, and more.
iPhone 15 Pro
How can the best iPhone of the year also be the worst? Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro was controversial from the beginning: It lacked an important camera feature available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, had terrible battery life, and most of the issues concerned the A17 Pro chip.
While it had a revolutionary 3nm processor, it constantly overheated. Even with several software updates, users complained about how this device handled heavier tasks. Apple discontinued this device after it released the iPhone 16 Pro model. However, the first iPhone with Apple Intelligence was one of the worst the company ever released.
M2 iPad Pro
After an impressive M1 iPad Pro release, the M2 iteration was quite meh. No one can say this device wasn’t powerful enough. However, its accessories would drain its battery when it wasn’t in use, and the lack of major new features made this iPad Pro a weak upgrade.
Users were hoping for a front-facing camera in landscape mode, an upgrade to the Magic Keyboard, and an enticing iPadOS update. All of that came in 2024 with the M4 iPad Pro.
Apple Watch Series 9
The Apple Watch Series 9 was a great product. However, at least in the US, there was a major controversy: Apple had to halt sales of this wearable due to a patent infringement ban. As a result, during the majority of the time the company sold this wearable, it couldn’t include a functioning blood oxygen sensor in the US.
A way to avoid this ban was to purchase an Apple Watch Series 9 from a third-party marketplace or another country. Even to this day, Apple Watch Series 10 models sold in the US still suffer from this ban.
Magic accessories
Apple released the Magic accessories with a Lightning port in 2015. While they were a better solution than their predecessor, with a removable battery, it was a surprise when the company launched the M3 iMac still with Lightning ports.
Fortunately, by the end of 2024, Apple revamped the iMac with the M4 chip and USB-C port. This change allowed users to use a single cable for multiple devices.
