Whether you've been a fan since the Apple IIe or only recently got your first iPad, Apple products have been a mainstay of everyday life for decades. The company has managed to become the largest tech outfit in the world by seeming to stay two steps ahead of what people may need in their lives, all the way from the era of portable music players up through the sleek tablets and smartphones of today. But for as many products as it's brought into the market, Apple has also discontinued many others. Read on to see the most recent device the company has decided to ditch.
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Apple just discontinued its 21.5-inch iMac desktop computer.
ShutterstockAs part of an ongoing lineup change, Apple quietly discontinued its 21.5-inch iMac desktop computer after the company removed it from its online store on Oct. 29 and confirmed it would no longer be selling the product, MacRumors reports. As the smallest screen size available in the lineup, the model was reportedly popular with schools and educational institutions as a budget-friendly computer available for $1,099.
Only 24-inch and 27-inch iMacs now remain in the lineup.
ShutterstockThe axing of the lineup's lower-end model spells the end of the 21.5-inch size format. Only larger versions of the computer that were released in April remain for sale, including a 24-inch model starting at $1,299 and a 27-inch model with pricing based on hard drive size, processing power, and available RAM. The company had previously discontinued 21.5-inch models with larger built-in hard drive space back in March.
While Apple will no longer be producing the product or selling it in its physical stores or online, there's still a chance for customers to scoop up the last vestiges of the model: The computer will remain available through third-party retailers for as long as the current inventory lasts. MacRumors also points out that a refurbished model is still available on the company's website for the time being.
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The change comes as Apple continues to switch from Intel chips to its own processing chips.
ShutterstockApple's latest change to its iMac lineup comes as part of its current overhaul that's adding new technical elements to its products. In April, the company unveiled the first iMac computers powered by its own M1 processor that replaced the Intel processor previously used in the machines. Other popular computing products from the company, including the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the Mac Mini, had previously been redesigned to include the latest processor.
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Apple has discontinued other products over the last year.
ShutterstockThe end of the smallest-available iMac isn't the first time this year Apple has discontinued a product. On Mar. 8, Apple confirmed to CNN Business that it was ending production of one of its most powerful computers, saying, "once existing inventory runs out, the iMac Pro will no longer be available." And on Mar. 12, the company confirmed it would be dropping its top-level Home Pod home assistant and speaker it first released in 2018 from its lineup.
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