Viewed from the narrow perspective of tech and related services that were discontinued, deprecated, and disconnected, 2025 was relatively quiet. But it wasn't silent. At least 10 events stand out to me as a long-time observer and participant in the industry, from the perspective of having a notable impact or representing the end of an era. 

For comparison, in 2022, we lost some notable names, including the iPod, Google Stadia and Internet Explorer. This year seemed to have fewer high-profile goodbyes and a lot more nostalgia and changes symptomatic of larger trends.

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Watch this: RIP to the Tech That Died in 2025

07:12

AOL disconnects its dial-up internet service

If you're of a certain age, like me, the screechy tones of a modem handshake connecting to the internet evoke a vivid audio memory of the slow, formative years of the web. In those early days, you logged into a particular service. The biggest fish, AOL, became synonymous with dial-up. 

In September, 34 years after its launch, AOL ceased to screech and left a large number of rural customers without home internet access. (Some 2 million people were still using the service as of 2015.)

The Humane AI wearable when it was new.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Humane AI pin 

I was baffled by the excitement surrounding the Humane AI pin, a wearable device that uses AI for voice chat. It may be because I've seen so many of these one-trick ponies come and go, most of which have been replaced by multifunctional gadgets. 

In the case of the pin, which lasted only around a year, it wasn't very good, but that only compounded the problem. Our fully capable phones are already in our pockets. While HP acquired Humane AI lock, stock and chatbot in February, the primary driver was the technical talent, operating system and patent portfolio. A revival of the hardware is unlikely.

The last home button, here on the iPhone SE.

James Martin/CNET

The last iPhone home button leaves town

You can't go home again, at least not easily on the iPhone anymore. The last model with a dedicated home button was the iPhone SE, which was replaced by the home buttonless iPhone 16E in February. 

In some cases, you can map another control to bring you home, but it means giving up direct access to another capability. I curse its absence every time my iPhone gets persnickety about sensing upswipes from the bottom of the screen.

Micron Crucial DDR5 in 2024 just before the AI boom.

Micron Technology

Micron forgets Crucial consumer memory

Memory manufacturers are flocking to high-demand, high-margin, AI-friendly, high-bandwidth memory, thanks to the seemingly deep pockets of popular AI companies that need data centers yesterday. 

Given that there are really only three significant manufacturers -- SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung -- when Micron announced it was pivoting away from consumer markets in November, we're far from the end of the days of impossible-to-find, impossible-to-afford memory for PCs.

The BSoD when I last remembered to photograph it in 2021.

Lori Grunin/CNET

Black is the new blue screen of death

Windows' "blue screen of death" has been a tech staple since the early days of the graphical user interface, one of the most dreaded and not terribly useful jump scares ever provided by a system crash. While Microsoft improved the recovery speed and backend data collection for operating system crashes in October 2024, the company replaced the BSoD itself in the October 2025 release of the OS, with a "simpler UI" on a (less anxiety-inducing?) black background. 

We will miss you, giant frown emoticon. Although I still expect it to appear in the usual unusual places, such as digital billboards and taxi entertainment systems, which invariably run on outdated versions of Windows.

The home screen of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, running apps from the Amazon App Store.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Amazon fires its Android App Store

Amazon has always had a laser-sharp focus on the bottom line, which includes driving buyers toward its own-branded products. It took that to a new level in August, when it shut its store for general Android apps and switched to apps intended to run solely on its own Fire devices, which run a custom version of Android. 

The store lasted a relatively long time, though, 14 years from its 2011 launch. 

Skype circa 2018.

Microsoft

Microsoft Skype becomes a Teams player

Long before FaceTime and ubiquitous VoIP communications, in the early years of this century, Skype entered the mainstream consciousness as a cheap alternative to pricey long-distance and international phone (voice) calls, picking up speed when it was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 and added video calling to its skill set. 

In February, Microsoft announced we'd be saying buh-bye to the veteran standalone app and that it would be folded into the company's free version of its less-beloved Teams app.

Nest Learning Thermostat second generation.

Lindsey Turrentine/CNET

Google Nest Learning Thermostat dumbs down

Google's lobotomy of the first two generations of the OG smart thermostat in October provided us with yet another object lesson in 21st-century planned obsolescence. The hardware is fine, just old by tech standards: Nest Labs launched it in 2011, and Google bought the company in 2014. 

But by disconnecting it from the app (euphemistically referred to as "ending support"), it loses a lot of the features you bought it for, like remote operation and notifications, as well as discontinuing security updates -- essentially encouraging people to upgrade.

Google's Stadia controller, now a relic.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Google bricks the last Stadia controllers

Google's custom-designed controller, with its proprietary connection to the company's short-lived Stadia cloud gaming service, was discontinued when the service shuttered at the end of 2022. The company refunded the hardware purchases but has also provided firmware upgrades to convert it to Bluetooth. 

It's a well-designed controller, so tossing it seems a waste. However, as of the end of 2025, the company will no longer offer the upgrade. If you haven't converted by then, you can add the controller to your shelf of nonfunctioning collectibles.

DJI Mini 2 flying free.

Josh Goldman/CNET

US grounds DJI drone imports

One of the major drone manufacturers -- it's probably the most well-known -- now numbers among the products you'll have trouble buying here in the US, thanks to a ban on imports of all foreign-made drones that went into effect in December. 

You can still fly 'em and buy 'em, you'll just have a problem finding 'em.