Google’s no stranger to sunsetting products, even relatively popular ones: Google+, Hangouts, Stadia — the list goes on. This year’s been relatively light on big-ticket Google projects petering out, with the more noteworthy shutdowns including the likes of the Google Podcasts platform and Dropcam connected security cameras. But with the year waning fast, we thought it’d be a good time to take a look at all the products Google killed in the past 12 months. Here’s everything Google shut down in 2024.
1 The Google Bard brand
February 2023 – February 2024
Bard is an interesting case. Google didn’t really kill it; Bard was the prototypical branding for Google’s AI chatbot, now called Gemini. From February 2023 to early 2024, the consumer-facing portion of Google’s now-all-encompassing AI ambitions went by a decidedly more playful name, but this past February, Google ditched Bard to make its AI portfolio Gemini all the way down: today, both Google’s family of AI models and the application they’re accessed through are called Gemini.
Historical bards being storytellers and poets, the Bard name was arguably a better fit for a natural-language interface that takes in and dispenses knowledge in longform than the more nebulous Gemini. But since February, Google’s been saying we’re in “the Gemini era,” and the company’s recently been toying around with a new “hey Gemini” hotword. We’re obviously going to be living with the Gemini brand for some time to come.
Full story
Google Bard is dead, long live Google Gemini
The Gemini Google One plan and dedicated mobile app are also here
2 Keen
June 2020 – March 2024
Google’s had its share of social media flops — most prominently Google+, which shut down in 2019. Keen, introduced about a year after Google+ went dark, was meant to fill a similar niche to Pinterest, allowing users to create “keens” around certain topics, much like Pinterest’s pinboards. As co-founder CJ Adams put it in 2020, “Keen lets you curate the content you love, share your collection with others and find new content based on what you have saved.”
As an Area 120 experiment, Keen always had a pretty high chance of being shelved eventually, and that finally happened in March of 2024. If I had to guess what Google’s next social media experiment will be, I’d put my money on a microblogging platform in the style of Twitter, with an emphasis on AI — but that’s just a stab in the dark.
Full story
Google shuts down its latest attempt at a social media app
The Area 120 experiment called Keen is shutting down this month
3 Google Podcasts
June 2018 – April 2024
Google Podcasts had a good run, having been in operation for nearly six years. The company actually announced that it’d be shuttering the podcast service in October 2023, so this one might not feel like a 2024 shutdown — but Google Podcasts was actually accessible into April of 2024. While the service was live for a number of years, it never seemed like much of a priority for Google. There was a listing for Google Podcasts on the Play Store, but the “app” was really just a shortcut to a podcast interface that, behind the scenes, was part of the Google app.
With Google Podcasts gone, YouTube Music is now Google’s home for podcast content — a perfect microcosm of Google’s often confusing branding practices if ever there was one.
Full story
Google Podcasts’ shutdown date came and went, but it still works (for now)
You can close out of the warning and continue listening
4 Dropcam
January 2009 – April 2024
Google acquired smart home company Nest Labs in early 2014. Later that same year, Nest acquired connected camera maker Dropcam. No Dropcam products were released after the company was purchased by Google-owned Nest, with Google’s subsequent connected cameras launching under the Nest brand — so in a way, Dropcam died out a decade ago.
But despite never releasing any new Dropcam cameras, Google maintained support for Dropcam devices for a commendable 10 years after taking ownership of the Dropcam brand. That support finally ended in April. At the time, Google offered users affected by the sunsetting of remaining Dropcam devices free Nest Cams to replace their newly bricked Dropcam cameras.
Dropcam was founded in 2009, so the brand made it 15 whole years before its ultimate retirement under Google’s stewardship.
Full story
Google’s killing these smart home products — but there’s a happy ending for users
The Dropcam and the Nest Secure are going dark next year, but Google is offering replacements
5 Nest Secure
November 2017 – April 2024
Nest Secure was Google’s DIY home security offering. Consisting of a connected keypad and open-close sensors for doors and windows, Nest Secure integrated with other Nest products like Nest Cam to offer a pretty robust security system.
As Google shut down the legacy Nest app earlier this year, though, the Nest Secure didn’t make the jump to the company’s current Google Home app. As of April 2024, Nest Secure devices can no longer connect to the internet and are effectively useless. Similarly to Dropcam devices, Google offered a replacement option in the form of a comparable system from ADT that does integrate with Google Home.
Full story
ADT’s updated smart security system is the spiritual successor to Nest Secure
Not much but it’s a start
6 VPN by Google One
October 2020 – June 2024
From October 2020 through earlier this year, Google One subscribers had access to a Google-maintained VPN service on Android and iOS, as well as laptop and desktop computers. VPN by Google One was shut down in June.
Many Pixels (Pixel 7 or newer and, as of recently, the Pixel Tablet) do offer a built-in VPN accessible in device settings, so the shuttering of VPN by Google One wasn’t a great loss for Google loyalists. Still, the newer Google VPN is exclusive to Pixel devices — you can’t use it on Windows or macOS the way you could VPN by Google One.
Full story
Google One is killing its VPN service on this date
VPN by Google One will shut down in just over a month from now
7 The Chromecast brand
July 2013 – September 2024
Google released the first Chromecast device in July 2013. The little dongle was a pretty big deal: for $35, it enabled internet-connected video streaming for any display that had HDMI input. Considering smart TVs weren’t really a thing yet back then, the original Chromecast was a fantastic bargain, able to fundamentally transform the TV viewing experience at an impulse-buy price.
Subsequent Chromecast devices weren’t as universally successful. The Chromecast with Google TV was also a bargain at $50, but with limited processing power and storage space, its hardware had trouble keeping up over time for a lot of users. While you can still buy the two latest Chromecast dongles at retail, Google’s confirmed that, since the release of the Google TV Streamer, it won’t be manufacturing more Chromecasts.
With Chromecast-branded hardware running out the clock and the software protocol once called “Chromecast built-in” now branded as Google Cast, the Chromecast name is effectively dead. Given Google could eventually be forced to divest itself of the Chrome browser, it makes sense to pivot away from the Chrome brand on the whole — but even so, it’s a little sad to see the storied Chromecast name disappear.
Opinion
Google is killing Chromecast, and for once, it’s the right move
A worthy admission into the graveyard
8 Jamboard
May 2017 – December 2024
Jamboard was the name of both Google’s smart whiteboard and the software that it interacts with. The physical Jamboard was a 55″, $5,000 display meant to be used like a whiteboard, with the twist that users could remotely collaborate using the Jamboard software (in collaborative sessions Google referred to as “Jams”).
The Jamboard hardware stopped receiving updates this past October, with the Jamboard app relegated to read-only status at the same time. Come New Year’s Day, the app is set to stop working altogether. Any existing Jams that haven’t been migrated to other apps by then (Google recommends FigJam, Lucidspark, or Miro) will be permanently lost.
An expensive, enterprise-focused platform, Jamboard won’t be widely missed in the new year. Nonetheless, it’s a shame to see one of Google’s quirkier projects bite the dust.
Full story
Google’s innovative take on the good old whiteboard is headed to the graveyard
Jamboard devices and the accompanying app will be discontinued in late 2024
