Apple is known to be an innovator, but it often innovates by putting existing features and design choices on the chopping block---driving industry changes not through introduction but reduction. Here are some of the most famous---and infamous---examples.

1. The Floppy Disk

One of the most notable examples of Apple's innovation-through-pruning was when Apple killed off the floppy disk. Until 1998, floppy disks were considered essential parts of any computer. That is, at least, until Apple released the iMac.

The iMac was the very first Apple device without a floppy disk drive, as Apple deliberately decided to remove it. Its controversial omission was notable because all Apple computers right up until that point featured a floppy disk drive, but Apple wanted people to, instead, transfer files through other means --- through optical discs, local networks, or even through the slowly maturing consumer-oriented internet.

Even though it was a highly controversial move then, the reality was that the floppy disk's days were already numbered, and Apple was just calling the time of death ahead of time to hasten the move forward. Over the course of the next few years, laptops would increasingly start coming out without floppy disk drives---putting an end to the venerable, decades-old format.

This moment certainly set the tone for future Apple design choices. After all, if you could drop floppy disc support and suffer no serious repercussions, the sky was the limit.

2. The CD/DVD Drive

The next immediate victim was the CD/DVD drive. Even though computers and laptops stopped coming out with floppy disk drives in the years following the iMac's release, they were replaced with CD or DVD drives, and the concept of a PC without one was unthinkable.

That is, at least, until the release of the first MacBook Air in 2008. The first Air shipped without a disc drive eschewing the format in favor of an unbelievably slim profile that caught the eye of buyers. The ultra-thin computer wasn't Apple's last disc-equipped device, of course, but it set in motion a plan to eventually get rid of them, too, over the course of several years.

The last MacBook with a disc drive was the mid-2012 MacBook Pro 13-inch. After this one, Apple would proceed to remove it from MacBook Pros as well, and from the rest of its computers. Then, other manufacturers would follow suit in the years to come. By the late 2010s, it was hard to find a disc--drive equipped laptop unless you were specially ordering devices for niche business or government needs.

Apple had done it again. It contributed to the demise of physical disc drives --- and while we can't say that they're the only reason why discs are seldom used these days, you could say that it played a big factor as far as laptops, and later desktop computer designs go.

3. The Physical Smartphone Keyboard

In the early years of smartphones, a physical keyboard was considered a must-have accessory as touch screens were small and responsiveness was, well, terrible. Further, many phones didn't even have a touch screen. While a shift away from physical keyboards on phones may not have been as controversial, in the moment, as the death of floppy disks and disc drives, the first iPhone in 2007 certainly raised some eyebrows.

At a time when smartphones were half screen, half keyboard, and the keyboard was considered crucial, Apple went all in on touchscreens---abandoning the physical keyboard altogether. Steve Ballmer, then CEO of Microsoft, famously laughed at the iPhone, dismissing it as outrageously priced and unappealing to business users for want of a physical keyboard.

While the iPhone wasn't the first portable device to ditch the physical keyboard---many of the PDAs that preceded smartphones were keyboardless---it would eventually become the inspiration for most, if not all, smartphones over the ensuing years. In that regard, Apple's gambit paid off. It killed off physical keyboards and made its vision of how a smartphone should look and work everyone's vision.

4. The Headphone Jack

This is a relatively recent wound still, and it's also one that was inflicted by the iPhone. More specifically, the iPhone 7, which was released in 2016.

The headphone jack for connecting wired earbuds and headphones was a staple feature on all smartphones for years until Apple decided to "bravely" remove the headphone jack. Back then, it was quite a controversial change. Nearly everyone heavily criticized Apple for the change, but Apple justified it by saying it needed the space for other components and superior water resistance.

Slowly, but surely, the smartphone manufacturers that mocked Apple for the change eventually began removing the headphone jack themselves, first on the higher-end models and then slowly going down to the budget models. Today you have to actively hunt for a phone with a headphone jack. So you could say Apple had the last laugh, as usual.

Still, of all the changes that Apple has unleashed on the market, this one remains the most controversial over time. Years on, there are still many iPhone users disappointed by the change and audiophile purists who refuse to consider the iPhone for want of a headphone jack.

5. In-Box Smartphone Charging Bricks

Finally, the last notable change came as recently as the iPhone 12, released in 2020. The iPhone 12 shipped without a charging brick in the box. Instead, it only had a Lightning to USB-C cable.

Apple cited environmental concerns, saying that most people already had a charging brick in their homes, and those who didn't have it could just buy one separately. People weren't having it, though, even if it was, in fact, true that many people had a plethora of chargers lying around.

Just like back when it removed the headphone jack, manufacturers like Samsung criticized Apple's design choices, until they, themselves, began removing the charging brick from their phones as well. So again, the "bold" move ended up being widely imitated. On some level, we're sure, the manufacturers were happy to have Apple take the heat for the change so they, too, could cut costs.

Future Contender: The SIM Card Slot

Apple killed off something else, too, but it's yet to be seen how big of a market impact it will have. We're talking about the SIM card slot. Apple removed it from US models of the iPhone 14 in 2022, arguing that all major carriers already support eSIM, a standard that replaces physical SIM cards with digital, downloadable cards.

The iPhone 14 is not the first eSIM-equipped phone, or even the first iPhone with eSIM, but it's the first one to remove the SIM card slot in favor of going digital-only.

As of this article in mid-2023 this design choice has yet to create a sizeable ripple in design norms. But we certainly expect it to do so eventually as other manufacturers opt to repurpose the SIM card space.