It appears that Apple has quietly discontinued the iPhone Lightning Dock, an accessory that the Cupertino firm had offered since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007.
According to 9to5Mac, when users search for the product on the Apple US website, no related results appear. While the Lightning Dock product page still shows as a result on Google, when users click the link, a message states “the product you’re looking for is no longer available on apple.com”.
In fact, it looks as though the product hasn’t been available since November 2021. 9to5Mac also scanned Apple websites for the European and Asian markets, and found that the product was “sold out” in all its colors. Indeed, according to the news website, an archive page indicated that the product was last seen available online for purchase on November 10.
It seems likely that Apple has discontinued the Lightning Dock in order to further push customers in the direction of its MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger.
No matter what Apple’s motives may be, the Cupertino company appears to be starting to kill Lightning as a charging option in its own product range. Third-party iPhone docks, of course, do still exist on the market.