In Commemoration: Technology That Has Passed in 2025 (Up to Now)

Uncategorized Mihnea

It’s astonishing, yet the year has already reached its midpoint.

Since the beginning of January, the technology sector has experienced notable transformations. It’s a rapidly evolving field, and several prominent products and services did not survive the first half of the year.

Some entries on our list enjoyed lengthy, impactful tenures and left enduring legacies. (Goodbye, Skype.) Others were fleeting or failed (looking at you, Humane AI Pin), destined for termination. Nevertheless, they all warrant recognition for their influence on our lives — even if merely as a punchline.

Come along as we look back on the year thus far and say goodbye or good riddance to the technology that has not persisted.

Humane AI Pin

AI Pin, we hardly got acquainted. In under a year, Humane’s effort to supplant the smartphone with a screenless, AI-driven wearable pin came to an end. The concept of an AI assistant displaying a screen on your hand or another surface was captivating. However, Humane’s implementation was lacking. From the outset, reviewers lambasted the $700 gadget for numerous problems, including a defective projector, inconsistent gesture recognition, inaccurate AI reactions, and overheating. Returns of the AI Pin quickly flooded in, and Humane discontinued support in February 2025.

Although Humane stumbled with an AI wearable, OpenAI is venturing into this space. Sam Altman, an investor in Humane, is spearheading OpenAI’s recent announcement of a collaboration with Jony Ive, the celebrated iPhone designer, to develop an AI device.

Skype

Video calling applications like Zoom and FaceTime owe a great deal to Skype. Twenty-two years ago, making a call typically necessitated an expensive phone plan. Long-distance communications were infrequent, saved for special moments or emergencies.

Then, Skype emerged in 2003, providing free calls between users via the internet. It revolutionized the telecom sector and pioneered video calling when it incorporated video functionality in 2006. Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, but it gradually lost its prominence as competing video calling apps from Apple, Google, and Zoom surfaced. In February, Microsoft declared it would <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-