Apple's Old-School SuperDrive Is Out of Stock and Unlikely to Return

Earlier this year, Apple added the last MacBook Pro with a CD/DVD drive to its obsolete products list, and now it looks like Apple's aging external USB SuperDrive might not be all that far behind.

8 Old SuperDrives
As noted by 9to5Mac, it's no longer possible to buy a USB SuperDrive online via the official Apple Store in the US. The product listing for the $79 device says that it's "Sold Out," rather than "Currently Unavailable." Apple's Canada online store also lists the device as sold out, and given that it was introduced alongside the original MacBook Air in 2008, Apple is unlikely to make additional units to play what many Mac users would consider to be legacy optical media.

Stock remains available on some of Apple's regional stores, such as the UK, and the USB SuperDrive can still be found elsewhere online at merchants like Amazon, but bear in mind that you'll need a USB-A to USB-C adapter to use it with a modern MacBook. Also, it doesn't play Blu-ray discs. Here's how Apple describes the product:

Whether you're at the office or on the road, you can play and burn both CDs and DVDs with the Apple USB SuperDrive. It's perfect when you want to watch a DVD, install software, create backup discs and more.

Only slightly bigger than a CD case, the Apple USB SuperDrive slips easily into your travel bag when you hit the road, and takes up little space on your desk or tray table when you’re working.

While the majority of Apple's product lineup has been updated over the past few years, there are still a handful of devices and accessories that are quite old and still available on the Apple store.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

WarmWinterHat Avatar
18 months ago

Good. Just a warning for anyone who wanted one of these, you can’t even use them with an Apple Silicon Mac.
They just don’t work.
Yes they do.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMac The Knife Avatar
18 months ago
I still use my SuperDrive to this day, from time to time. While I've purchased maybe 75 digital movies, the vast majority of my collection is on DVD/4K Blu-Ray. I've abandoned buying digital media because the companies selling it can and will take these movies and TV shows from you whenever they please, or if they go bankrupt. I have enough movies and TV shows on DVD/4K Blu-Ray to last a lifetime. I rip them to Plex and then I can stream them from anywhere I have an internet connection.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Populus Avatar
18 months ago
Oh, SuperDrive, you trusty old mate,
Spinning those discs at a steady rate.
You were the hero of the digital age,
Now you’re retired, out of the tech stage.

Remember the days of burning CDs?
Mixing up tracks with such ease?
You were the DJ, the maestro of tunes,
Now we’ve got playlists and streaming boons.

Installing software? You had our back,
We’d feed you a disc, you’d get right on track.
No Wi-Fi? No problem! You saved the day,
Like a techy knight, in your silver display.

Your hum was a comfort, a nerdy delight,
Though your speed was slower than dial-up at night.
We’d sit and we’d wait, and sometimes curse,
But in the end, you always came through.

You held our memories, backups galore,
With a whir and a click, you’d open the door.
Sure, you were bulky, and let’s not forget,
You’d chomp on our discs like a hungry pet.

Now you’re a relic, a bygone dream,
Replaced by the cloud and the endless stream.
But let’s not forget the fun we had,
Even if sometimes you drove us mad.

Farewell, SuperDrive, you did us proud,
In the hall of fame, you stand tall and loud.
Here’s to the laughs, the spins, and the burns,
Your legacy lives as the tech world turns.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
18 months ago
Legacy media?
Perhaps because it does not support Blu-ray?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
18 months ago
It's fine...There is really no reason to have a superdrive specifically anymore. I still do some burning (mainly m-disc)/reading occasionally, and just use a 3rd party external blu-ray drive. It even has USB-C without needing an adapter.

Any brand drive you buy will work fine with any Mac, including Apple Silicon.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bustycat Avatar
18 months ago
Third-party external SuperDrive-like devices are much cheaper.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)