Apple’s external USB SuperDrive for optical discs has just disappeared from sale.

Apple can be called a company that has difficulty breaking up with traditional technical solutions when it comes to interfaces. The widespread introduction of USB-C support was dictated by legal requirements in Europe, and Apple is saying goodbye to some accessories due to lack of demand. For example, the external USB SuperDrive DVD drive only recently disappeared from sale in the company’s online store.

Image Source: Apple

More precisely, as The Verge explains, the device could not be ordered in the United States since August of this year, and now a similar situation is typical for all markets where Apple is officially present. Introduced in 2008, the external drive for reading and writing optical discs until recently was equipped with a USB-A cable, so an adapter was required to connect it to the latest laptops with a USB-C port. But the drive did not require additional power, and in general, if necessary, allowed connoisseurs of Apple products to fully work with optical discs. In the US, its retail price reached $79.

Of course, even after the cessation of sales of USB SuperDrive, owners of Apple laptops still have the opportunity to use external drives from third-party manufacturers, so this event has more of a symbolic meaning than real negative consequences. In 2008, this device appeared to provide MacBook Air buyers with the ability to work with optical discs. The relevance of the use of such optical storage media in general has sharply declined in recent years, so few will regret this loss.