Apple isn't making a big deal out of it, but today it quietly killed one of its oldest devices this side of the iPod lineup: the 2012 non-Retina MacBook Pro, which it had been selling for $1,099 as an entry-level model alongside newer Retina MacBook Pros for over four years. In its place is 2015's Retina model, which is being sold with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for $1,299. A $1,999 version of the 15-inch 2015 MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD also continues to be sold.

Old as the non-Retina hardware was, it wasn't without its advantages. It was the only Mac laptop with upgradeable memory and standard 2.5-inch hard drives, making upgrades and repairs much more manageable than they are in other Macs. It had a DVD drive, and its USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, and Ethernet ports meant that you still had decent connectivity options.

But four years is an eternity even in the relatively slow-moving world of personal computers, and it was time for the old Pro to go. It missed out on the big leap in battery life that Intel's post-2013 CPUs delivered, and its integrated GPU in particular is anemic by modern standards. It's thicker and heavier than its Retina counterparts, and it has a worse screen. It uses the older 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, which means slower wireless and no Apple Watch unlocking under Sierra.