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Apple discontinues most boxed software

by Mike Schramm Jul 20th 2011 at 2:00PM

Considering that the Lion release today (which has gone swimmingly) was a vote of confidence, Apple has moved to get most of its boxed software out of the Apple Store completely, sending a notice out to retailers to discontinue titles like iWork '09, iLife '11, Aperture 3, and most of GarageBand's Jam Pack addons. All of that software will of course be available on the App Store with a download, but Apple won't be keeping them in the actual retail store any longer.

This follows Apple's actions earlier this year to remove a number of peripherals and retail games included inside Apple Stores. Much of the hardware is still available, and of course the games can be purchased with a digital download, but Apple seems to want to have its stores as clean and simple as possible.

And who can blame them? Apple's latest strategy has been to narrow down product lines and streamline software purchases with an App Store model, and that's worked out just great so far. With Lion already a solid indicator that customers are ready to take to the Mac App Store when needed, there's little if any reason left to bother with actual boxes and discs any more.



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Considering that the Lion release today (which has gone swimmingly) was a vote of confidence, Apple has moved to get most of its boxed...
 

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David Reed

This is a major problem. In spite of the common misconception that everyone has access to broadband, there are a lot of people who do not have it. I, for one, will not be able to pull Lion from my home connection - it would take the better part of a day to do so and that is only if no other internet activity is going on. If my mother were trying to do this, she would be in datacap lockdown before the download was done.

The bigger problem is the management of software for academic and business accounts. If the system proposed is anything like the one proposed for academic accounts using the iTunes store, a lot of departmental admins are going to tell their users to use options that are less of a headache to order.

July 22 2011 at 12:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Neopod

My concern is the companies like Jazz, Syquest, Zip and DVD/CD manufacturers, They will all go the 3.5" disc way and fade into insignificance. Infact most are dead now and the only companies that will strive are Backup solutions like BreezeHill who produce high-end storage solutions. I applaud Apple in the tech, but does this mean every company has to make a iDevice compatible piece of kit to survive?

July 20 2011 at 7:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
arjay67

So what about the other online and bricks-n-mortar stores that sell Apple HW and SW? MacMall comes to mind. Are they just SOL? Is Apple really getting that greedy?

July 20 2011 at 6:34 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to arjay67's comment
Tifur

If there's no boxed software, does that mean heavily discounted software from the Education Store is a thing of the past?

July 20 2011 at 4:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Tifur's comment
jayratch

At my school, some of the "heavily discounted" software is made available for download within the school's network. Free. Which is an even heavier discount.

It is possible that Apple will discontinue the school store deals, but I doubt it. I could more easily see them moving toward discount codes to let students go through the App Store at the discounted prices. They've also announced bulk purchasing (basically site licensing) for businesses, so that mechanism will almost certainly be available to schools as well.

July 21 2011 at 4:39 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
dagaz

" there's little if any reason left to bother with actual boxes and discs any more."

There is if you live in rural Australia like I do and only get a pitiful amount of downloads per month.

July 20 2011 at 3:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
beenyweenies

"With Lion already a solid indicator that customers are ready to take to the Mac App Store when needed"

How does the author know this? Apple launching Lion via the app store doesn't mean that it's proven to be a viable model, much less a replacement for brick-and-mortar retail OR packaged software. Time will tell.

July 20 2011 at 3:06 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
Jason Williams

Amazing how Apple is realizing the dream that Microsoft bragged about years ago...if you would have told me 10 years ago that Apple was going to be the company generating all the buzz, excitement and growth in computer electronics and MS would be the company walking in circles, I would have said you're nuts but that is exactly what's happening.

July 20 2011 at 2:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Adam

According to MacRumors, you can still buy boxed versions from the Apple Online Store, so they're not completely gone. But they are certainly on the way out. http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/20/apple-kills-more-boxed-software-in-favor-of-app-store/

July 20 2011 at 2:15 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
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