Tech deaths of 2024: 10 tech products and services that were discontinued this year

The tech market keeps getting more cutthroat every passing year. This often leads to tech outfits pulling the plug on their non-profitable products, even if they enjoy a niche audience. In 2024, heavyweights like Amazon, Google, and Facebook bit the bullet and pulled their duds out of the market. Here are the top 10 tech products and services that were discontinued in 2024.

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Spotify Car Thing

Spotify’s $90 Car Thing was a nifty gadget for users who wanted to access the media streaming service in their cars but did not have a smart infotainment system. The market for such a device was very limited to begin with, leading Spotify to halt Car Thing’s production in 2022 – a year after its launch. In 2024, Spotify discounted it entirely and took a $31.4 million hit. Since Spotify has pulled software support for the device, the Car Thing is as good as a plastic box.

Snap Pixy

While we’re on the theme of popular apps foraying unsuccessfully into hardware, the Snap Pixy was another giant fail of the year. The pocket camera drone seemed like a good idea on paper but failed to garner any interest among the public. Selling fewer than 71,000 units, Snapchat pulled the plug on Pixy just 4 months after its launch. Not soon after, the Pixy was recalled altogether, after Snapchat cited a fire hazard issue caused by the battery.

ICQ

90s kids will remember ICQ as one of the first instant messaging platforms. The service was first acquired by AOL in 1998 and then by Mail.Ru Group in 2010. ICQ peaked in 2001 when the platform had 100 million registered users. The number soon declined with the rise of social media platforms and IM apps. In 2020, ICQ tried to rebrand itself as ‘ICQ New’ and incorporate cutting-edge features to compete with heavyweights like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, but the move came a bit too late. This year, Mail.Ru Group (now VK) decided to put an end to ICQ and move its users to VK Messenger and VK WorkSpace.

Fossil smartwatches

When Fossil stepped into the smartwatch game in 2016, it brought the aesthetics of traditional watches to modern wearables. This strategy worked for a while, as users who were put off by the clunkiness of wearables were more drawn to a health tracker that looked closer to a watch than a rectangular screen. However, over the years, Samsung and Apple have refined their wearable design while adding a lot of smart features that watchmakers like Fossil just can’t compete against. Unsurprisingly, Fossil discontinued its smartwatch line this year, making 2021’s Gen 6 its last smart wearable.

Meta Celebrity AI Chatbots

Not every application of AI is bound to earn dividends. Last year, Meta introduced AI celebrity chatbots on Facebook and WhatsApp. As the name suggests, these AI chatbots were designed to respond to user’s messages as celebrities. Meta partnered with Tom Brady, Charli D’Amelio, Naomi Osaka, MrBeast, Snoop Dogg, and other celebrities to bring their likeness to its platform. Unfortunately for Meta, this move failed to pay off as users just weren’t interested in talking to a chatbot. The tech giant then went on to secure deals with Judi Dench, John Cena, and other renowned celebrities to be the voice of Meta AI.  

Google Podcasts

Google is notorious for pulling support for its apps and services that enjoy a favourable niche. This year, the Podcasts app got the bullet and joined the Google graveyard, even though it had racked up over 500 million downloads on the Play Store. The app’s no-nonsense approach to design and lack of frills gained it a dedicated user base. However, Google’s insistence on making YouTube Music its primary audio library led to the Podcasts app getting canned. Users were given the option to move their data to YouTube Music before the app was shut down.

VPN by Google One

Google’s VPN was another niche tech service that was discontinued in 2024. Google offered the VPN service as a part of its ‘One’ subscription bundle. However, tough competition from established players like Nord, Surfshark, and Proton did not give Google enough room to breathe. In June 2024, the company decided to ditch its VPN service and focus on other security products.

Nokia smartphones

HMD’s revival of the Nokia brand name did not go as well as they had hoped. Turns out, nostalgia isn’t enough to propel you to market success. Nokia smartphones under the HMD banner failed to bring onboard the one key thing that made its feature phones in the early 2000s a roaring success – personality. Virtually indistinguishable from every other smartphone on the block, Nokia smartphones failed to make a mark. Their bang-average specs were also a part of their downfall. In 2024, HMD decided to launch its own series of smartphones while quietly taking off Nokia devices from European markets.

Amazon Echo Dot with Clock

Amazon’s bedside companion device, Echo Dot with Clock, was one of our favourite tech products that was discontinued in 2024. This compact Echo speaker had a dot-matrix LED to display the time. Its subtle light ring at the bottom added to the bedside ambience. While Amazon did not provide an official reason for the discontinuation of the Echo Dot with Clock, it is believed that the company wants to favour its successor – Echo Spot. While the Echo Spot makes a decent bedside device, its bright display may not appeal to users who liked the Echo Dot for its minimalism.

Kindle Oasis

Kindle Oasis was another product that was dropped by Amazon this year in favour of its successor. For a long time, the Oasis had been the flagship Kindle, offering premium features like water resistance, an ergonomic grip, and a giant 7-inch display. The new Kindle Colorsoft offers a 7-inch colour display while also being completely waterproof. Meanwhile, the Kindle Scribe has the form factor of a notebook and the ergonomic grip of Oasis. On top of that, it lets users scribble and take notes with its dedicated pen.

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Final Thought

These were the top 10 tech products and services that were discontinued in 2024. While some were shocking, others were destined to fail from the beginning. Which product were you sad to bid farewell to this year? Let us know in the comments!