Apple announced they will discontinue iPhones, are Mobile phones being replaced?

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

There has been lots of buzz from supposed Apple insiders over the last few years around the “fact” that they believe the iPhone will be discontinued in the reasonably near future. The iPhone is one of the products that has played a vital role in Apple’s meteoric rise to success and is undoubtedly one of their biggest earners with the support..

However, the discontinuation of more iPhones over the last year and the rumors that Apple will discontinue more products this year only adds to the suspicion that the era of the iPhone is over.

Whether you use your iPhone mostly to play mobile slots, as a work device, or you use it to stream and listen to your favorite music, there’s no denying that the iPhone is a fundamental part of smartphone culture that would be hard to replace. Let’s look at the rumors swirling around about the iPhone and what we know.

iPhones Discontinued

The Apple graveyard yawns wider and wider with each passing year. Since the well-publicized court case that called Apple out and fined them for planned obsolescence in their devices, things have changed for the electronics manufacturer. The most recent case was in 2021, and it seems that Apple took it to heart as, instead of the planned obsolescence they had been so despised for, they decided to send a few of their older devices off this mortal coil for good. In 2020, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 12 and discontinued the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, which were only launched in 2019. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus had gone the same way earlier in the year after a slightly longer lifespan. The discontinuation of four products so close together sent waves out onto the Apple community, and the rumors began that the beloved iPhone was not long for this world. Here are all the Apple devices that were taken off the market in 2021:

• iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max
• Apple Watch Series 6
• iPhone XR
• iPad 8th-gen
• iPad mini 5th-gen
• 21.5-inch iMac
• iMac Pro
• HomePod
• Apple TV 4K 1st-gen
• Beats EP/Solo Pro/Powerbeats 3

More Potential Discontinuations

With the previous year’s discontinuations as a basis for educated guesses, tech industry insiders have placed their bets on the iPhones likely to not make it out of 2022 alive. So far, the top contenders seem to be the iPhones 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, and 12, which will likely be superseded by new models in September, and the iPhone SE. which, at almost two whole years old, seems to be the most logical choice. While there is no solid proof that these or any phones will really be on the chopping block, the anecdotal evidence of years past speaks for itself.

An Insider Speaks

A supposed Apple insider has come forward with unverified information that has set the tech world abuzz: that the Apple iPhone may well be discontinued inside the next decade. This statement seems outlandish and unlikely to most people as they well know Apple’s success in the smartphone world. It is the rapid discontinuation of smartphone devices that has no doubt fuelled this idea, but with the iPhone still among the most popular products manufactured by the tech giant, how likely is it to be true? With the iPhone sold globally currently accounting for about half of Apple’s revenue, can the company stand to lose such a cash cow product?

However, the Apple pods and watches are hot on the heels of the iPhone in revenue, so such rumors cannot be counted out as lies entirely without looking at the evolution of tech as a whole. The suggestion from this insider that Apple’s first augmented reality device will be coming out this year further fuels the flames that might consume the beloved iPhone as technology evolves and moves towards a more immersive approach. This device will no doubt require some kind of connector, likely using an existing iPhone structure, but with technology moving as fast as it does, there’s no way of knowing when the last day of the smartphone in its current form may dawn. We all used a Blackberry for the last time, and had no idea that day would roll around; perhaps the iPhone is the new Blackberry and will go the same way?

Wrap Up

Apple’s iPhone might be the subject of many rumors and discussions at the moment, but isn’t it always? Technology will continue to evolve, and by the time smartphones are phased out, the population will undoubtedly be completely ready for the change. The devices and support dropped by Apple appear, for the moment, to be in line with the norm.