Popular gadgets, apps, and other tech we lost in 2022

Popular Devices, Apps, and Other Tech We Lost in 2022

To say this year has been a whirlwind for the science and technology world is an understatement. From technological demise to AI’s giant leap to James Webb…we’ve seen it all.

Amid the drama, we’ve seen some of our favorite software, hardware and science projects laid to rest. Here we remember all the devices, apps and other technology we lost in 2022.

Google is known for shutting down apps or services that aren’t working, and in 2022 several services were shut down.

Let’s start with a classic – Google Hangouts. The instant messaging platform gave way to the company’s Slack-like offering, Google Chat.

Its failure to compete with its rivals like WhatsApp is what led to its demise in November this year.

Another Google service awaiting its imminent death is Stadia, the company’s wildly popular cloud gaming service. Stadia is a victim of Google’s failure to understand the market.

The company launched Stadia in November 2019 with the promise of delivering games to every device. However, the end product differed from what was promised.

According to Google, it failed to appeal to consumers.

Stadia’s days were numbered as of last year when Google shut down its internal development studios. In September 2022, the company announced that it was shutting down the service. Existing players will have access to their libraries and data until January 18, 2023.

Street View, the Google app that provided us with a detailed 360-degree view of streets on the planet, is also on its deathbed.

With the app features now redundant due to Google Maps and Street View Studio web app, it made sense for the company to stop it on Street View.

Google will discontinue it on March 21, 2023.

With Meta’s focus now on the metaverse, the company pulled the plug on some of its hardware and software offerings this year.

Meta Portal video call smart display, the company’s answer to Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Nest devices, is being killed. The product failed to impress consumers wary of Meta’s privacy history.

Newsletters were a big hit during the pandemic. Meta launched Bulletin in 2021 to capture a piece of the profit pie and to compete with the likes of Substack.

With the company now going through a tumultuous time, it is cutting some unnecessary limbs, with Bulletin being one of them.

Bulletin will be closed completely in March 2023.

Amazon Glow came as a device to make it easier for kids to communicate with far-flung friends and families by making games and activities part of the process.

The company decided to stop selling the $300 device in October due to poor numbers. Amazon later decided to stop supporting the device as of December 31st.

Earlier this year, Apple decided to discontinue its legendary iPod. The device was first introduced in 2001.

It changed the way people listened to music. However, its popularity declined with the debut of the iPhone.

In a world ruled by streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, iPod has become a relic of the past. iPhone Touch launched in 2019 was the last in line.

Blackberry had been dead for a while, but the last rites were still to be performed. Earlier this year, the Canadian company announced that it had shut down servers necessary for old Blackberry devices to function properly.

Once the device most preferred by business executives, Blackberry’s grace was swift.

January 4 is D-Day for any device running Blackberry’s software.

NASA has officially terminated its Mars InSight lander nearly four years after it landed on the red planet.

The last time the space agency heard from the lander was on December 15. Attempts to reach the lander fell on deaf ears, forcing NASA to abandon it.

During its time, InSight provided scientists with important seismic data using its seismometer.