Part 4/7:
Google, known for its persistent experimentation and eventual retreat from various projects, shuttered a slew of services, including Google Pay in the U.S., Google Podcasts, and the Google One VPN. Among its more notable closures was the discontinuation of the Chromecast app after a successful 11-year run. Google pivoted its focus toward the Google TV streamer, a more expensive alternative to stream content, leaving many users to reminisce about its cost-effective predecessor.
A Couple of Hardware Blunders
Some tech products were short-lived, and in hindsight, their swift demise offers a sigh of relief. Meta’s bizarre celebrity AI chatbot project met a fiery end, while Snapchat struggled once again with its hardware ambitions, recalling its Pixie Drone due to overheating issues.