Three Discontinued Apple Products Rumored to Make a Comeback
Although the 12-inch MacBook, iMac Pro, and full-size HomePod have all been discontinued, there are whispers that all three items might be brought back at some point in the future.
Continue reading for a summary of the information we have learned thus far concerning prospective product comebacks, new features, and adjustments to anticipate.
HomePod
In March 2021, Apple decided to stop producing the full-size HomePod in order to concentrate on the HomePod tiny.
The inaugural HomePod, which was released in February 2018, was praised for its sound quality, but its $349 starting price made it much more costly than other smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Sales of the speaker reportedly remained underwhelming even after Apple reduced the HomePod’s price to $299.
Since the full-size HomePod was removed off the market, the speaker has garnered significant attention and hefty bids on eBay.
Apple is creating a new HomePod using the same S8 processor that is expected for the Apple Watch Series 8, claims Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. The next HomePod, according to Gurman, would feature a “updated display on top” and be “closer to the original HomePod” in terms of size and audio quality than the HomePod small.
A gadget that includes an Apple TV, HomePod, and FaceTime camera has also been mentioned by Gurman in the past, although specifics are still few.
MacBook Pro 12-inch
In July 2019, Apple discontinued the 12-inch ultraportable MacBook in conjunction with upgrades to the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The 12-inch MacBook, which was introduced in March 2015, had a slim and lightweight design and weighed just two pounds. A fanless design, a single USB-C connector for data and charging, a new Force Touch touchpad, and an inventive battery architecture that enabled for a bigger battery to fit within the laptop were some of the key features of the 12-inch MacBook.
Numerous users complained that the 12-inch MacBook was underpowered, which was a major factor in its discontinuation. Although subsequent editions of the 12-inch MacBook featured up to a Core i7 CPU, Intel processors were just not a good fit for the notebook’s small and light design. The original 12-inch MacBook came with a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor.
However, the 12-inch MacBook might easily make a reappearance with the switch to Apple silicon CPUs in the Mac. Apple is reportedly contemplating releasing a brand-new 12-inch laptop by 2024, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, although it’s not clear whether the device would be a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro.
Pro iMac
The iMac Pro was dropped by Apple in March 2021. Apple said at the time that the great majority of professional iMac users preferred the 27-inch model and that the Mac Pro was an option for those who need even more performance and expandability. The multicoloured 24-inch iMac with the M1 CPU is the last all-in-one desktop computer in the Mac range since Apple has subsequently discontinued the 27-inch iMac as well.
The 27-inch iMac ultimately became faster and cheaper than the regular iMac Pro configuration since the iMac Pro, which was released in December 2017, did not see any significant hardware updates over the course of its existence.
The iMac Pro is allegedly making a return using Apple silicon processors, according to persistent rumours. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his newsletter from last month that he continues to think a bigger iMac or iMac Pro is in the works and “may appear as early as next year.” The computer could be powered by M2 Pro and M2 Max processors at that time period.
