During Apple’s product launch week starting this past Monday, the company announced it would discontinue seven older models, such as the iPhone 16e, MacBook Air M4, and iPad Air M3, to make way for new AI-era products.
This new Apple product launch week involved a complete refresh as seven original Apple models were officially removed from Apple’s retail lineup.
Starting with the core product group, the iPhone 16e was replaced by the iPhone 17e, suggesting Apple may plan to release a budget iPhone model annually.
Similarly, the MacBook Air with the Apple M4 chip and the iPad Air with the M3 chip were discontinued to make way for the MacBook Air with the Apple M5 chip and the iPad Air M4, all highlighted as products designed to work seamlessly in the AI era.
An interesting point this launch week is the MacBook Pro line, which despite having introduced an M5 chip model late last year, has now removed the 512GB storage option, requiring users to start with a 1TB capacity when purchasing a MacBook Pro.
Meanwhile, the display product line saw the 2022 Apple Studio Display and Pro Display XDR replaced by the new Studio Display and the 2026 edition of the Studio Display XDR.
Apple’s direction moving forward is clear: all products will be designed to work with AI right out of the box.