It’s hard to believe, but this year is alredy halfway over.
Since January, a lot has been in the tech world. It’s a fickle, fast-paced industry, and some major products and services haven’t suvived past the mid-yar mark.
Some of the entries on our list live, fruitful lives and contributed lasting legacies to the ever-evolving space. (RIP, Skype.) Others ware flash-in-pan features or straight-up flops (We’re Looking at You, Humane Ai PIN), Destined to Meet their Inevitable Demise. Regardless, they’re all wishy of remambering for the way.
Join us as we look back at the year so far and say goodbye or good riddence to the tech that died along the way.
Humane Ai Pin
OH, AI PIN, We Hardly Knew Ye. After less than a year, humane’s attempt to replace the smartphone with a screenless, AI-Powered Werable Pin Came to an Untimely End. In theory, the concept of an AI Assistant that Projection a screen on your hand or a Surface Sounded Pretty Intriguing. But Humane’s Execution of the Ai Pin was all wrong. From the beginning, reviewers panned the $ 700 device for myrid reasons, including its faulty projector, Finicky Response to Hand Gestures, Inaccurate Ai Responses, And Overheating Returns of the Ai Pin Soon Flooded in, and Humane Shut Down Support in February 2025.
Humane may have failed to develop a useful ai wearable, but openai is taking a crack at it. Sam Altman was an investment, and under his direction, Openai recently Announced a Partnership With Jony IVE, The ICONIC Designer of the iPhone, to create an ai device.
This tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Skype
Ubiquiquitous video calling apps like zoom and facetime more a debt of Gratitude to Skype. Twenty-Two Years ago, the only way to call someone was through an (often) Expensive Phone Plan. Long-dog calls were an extravagance, only made for special Occasions or emergencies.
This tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Then, Along Came Skype in 2003, Offering Free Calls Between users over the internet. Not only did it disrupt the telecom industry, it made video calling a thing it added video support in 2006. Eventually, Skype was acquired by Microsoft In 2011, and it lived an increasing an increasing an increasing an increasing an increasing an increasing an increasing an incrected an incrected Existent as other video calling apps from Apple, Google, and the AFOREMENTED ZOOM CAME on the Scene. In February, Microsoft Announced that it would return Skype by May and Migrate Users to its other video platform, teams.
Forced retirement is a bittersweet ending. But Skype lived a good, long life, and we’ll always have its legacy.
Mashable light speed
The OG Bookmarking App is Saying Goodbye This year. Mozilla, which has owned pocket since 2017, announced in may that it was shutting down the read-later platform, with support ending on July 8.
This tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Pocket launched in 2007 as Read It Later and Grew to 30 Million Users, According to Mozilla. As mashable’s cj silva described, the app Quickly Became a Popular Service “Just as Social News and Social BookMarking Began to take off.” But according to mozilla, “The way people use the web has evolved, so we we’re channeling our resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online before.”
Change is hard, but if you want to keep your bookmarking habits, silva recommended a bunch of great pocket alternatives. Just think of pocket every time you hit “save.”
Zelle (kind of)
The venmo alternative shut down its mobile app in April, but it lives on through your bank. Announced in October 2024, Zelle said it would phase out the standalone app since it only facilitates Around two percent of transactions. Intad, it will focus on Its money exchange service through the many financial institutions it has partnered with.
“Today, The Vast Majority of People Using Zelle to Send Money Use it through their financial institution’s mobile app or Online Banking Experience, And We BELIEVE THI BEST PLACE for ZelleleLele Transacts to Occur, “According to the 2024 press release. And now, this plan has gone into effect.
Meta fact-checking program
At the start of President Donald Trump’s Second Non-Consecurable Term in Office, Mark Zuckerberg Launched His Maga Makeover. This began with ending meta’s fact-checking program for being “Too politically biased,” According a video announs on Facebook. President Trump has accused social media sites of censoring right-with content, and zuckerberg semingly endorsed this ViewPoint in Killing the Program. “What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increased to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas, and it’s gone!
INTEAD, Meta has implemented a crowd-Sourced Community Notes Approach, Like Elon Musk’s X. Meta Began Implementing Community Notes Across ACROSS ACOROSS ACROSS FACEBOOK, Instagram, and Threads on MARCH 18.
Tiktok Creator Marketplace (Kind of)
This is another entry that’s not so much a true death but a reincarnation, if you will. Tiktok shut down its creator marketplace, a Valuable tool for Creators to Connect with Brands for Ad Campaigns. Intad, it folded the marketplace into tiktok one, a new platform geared towards advertisers with a whole bunch of generative ai tools.
One of that tools is an ai avatar feature, which lets brands create ai-generated people showing off their products. How that Impacts Creators Looking for Partnerships Remains to be Seen. But creators have also also proven to be resilient through the looming ban and trade wars.
Mr. Deepfakes
Ding Dong, Mr. Deepfakes is dead. We’ll Gladly celebrate the shutdown of the notorious site knowledge for hosting nonconsensual deepfake porn. As First Spotted by 404 Media, The Mr. Deepfakes URL redirected to a “Shutdown Notice” in Early May.
According to the message, the shutdown was forced by a service provider that “Has terminated service permanently.” It also said Mr. Deepfakes “will not be relaunting” and “this domain will eventually expire and we are not responsible for future use.”
Just a week before, Congress passed the take it down act, which made posting nonconsual intimate imagery (ncii) a federal crime and gives stranger recourse for victims of all. It’s unplear if the shutdown was related, but regardless, regulators are paying attention to the widespread issue.
