Innovation made significant progress in 2016. We saw an Amazon drone make its first commercial delivery in the United Kingdom, and a fleet of self-driving Ubers hit the roads in Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

But the year wasn’t so good for all tech products.

Let’s recall the rise and fall of hoverboards and the ongoing saga of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smart phones. Other products went more quietly into the night: The last ever VCR was manufactured in July.

Here’s a closer look at the tech products that hit the bucket in 2016.

● iPhone headphone jack

Apple Inc. killed off the jack in September in favor of wireless headphones. The move, which upset some of its loyal users, forced new iPhone 7 users to either use a dongle or invest in wireless headsets. The company also encouraged users to buy its wire-free (and futuristic-looking) set of earbuds, AirPods ($160).

● Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Samsung faced a slew of challenges in 2016 but nothing hurt more than the nightmare that was the Galaxy Note 7 smart phone. In October, it halted all production of the device following complaints that it burst into flames. This came after a badly mismanaged recall of 2.5 million Note 7s shortly after it launched. Analysts believe the Note 7 debacle will put a $9.5 billion dent in sales and eliminate $5 billion in profits.

Samsung also recalled 3 million of its washing machines this year because of an explosion risk.

● VCRs

The last VCR manufacturer, Japanese company Funai Electric, ceased production of its video-cassette recorders in July.

At its peak, the company sold 15 million VCRs in a year, but those numbers significantly dropped as DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and, ultimately, streaming services hit the mainstream. Even so, Funai Electric still managed to sell 750,000 VCRs just last year.

Considering the first VCRs were introduced in the 1960s, 50 years of production is still a solid run for any tech device.

● Hoverboards

Hoverboards were the holiday gift of 2015, but this year wasn’t quite as good. After reports of burns caused by exploding devices, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission deemed hoverboards unsafe. Retailers pulled them from stores, transportation agencies banned them from trains and buses, and, ultimately, more than 500,000 hoverboards were recalled.

The devices’ lithium-ion battery packs — the same battery found in Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smart phones — were blamed for the incidents.

● Pebble

Pebble, once the darling of the smart watch world, recently sold off its software division to fitness tracking company Fitbit. 

The news angered existing Pebble users — without software updates, their devices would become obsolete.

The deal, which cost $40 million, didn’t include Pebble’s hardware, but it appears the company won’t be making more wearables. Reports indicate Pebble is pulling production on its Pebble Time 2 watch, which recently wrapped up a Kickstarter campaign. Early backers will receive refunds.

● Microsoft’s Sunrise app

Microsoft’s Sunrise app was sunsetted this year. The tech giant acquired the popular calendar app, known for its social features and sleek design, in October, 2015. But less than a year later, Microsoft shuttered Sunrise and blended its features into Outlook, its email service. The new integration brings map integration and makes it easier to set up meetings and Skype calls directly within Outlook.

● Facebook’s Paper app

Facebook’s Paper app — which launched in 2014 — was a unique, beautifully designed approach to displaying both articles and status updates in your news feed. Some even called it the future of reading news. Paper was best known for its Instant Articles feature, which allowed users to browse and download articles from popular media outlets directly to their phones. It was also a convenient place to check Facebook messages and your timeline without switching apps.

But because of low user numbers, Facebook mostly used it as a testing ground to quietly roll out new features. The social network shuttered the service on July 29.

● Apple’s cinema displays

This summer, Apple discontinued its Thunderbolt Display, the company’s only remaining standalone monitor. It was a favorite among graphic designers, gamers, and anyone who needed to connect a Mac computer to a larger display. But considering it hadn’t received an update since 2011, the news wasn’t much of a shock.

Apple did, however, partner with LG to roll out 4K and 5K displays — a pricier but better quality alternative.

● Google Picasa

In March, Google pulled the plug on its photo-sharing and storing service Picasa.

Google Photos debuted last year with a splashy launch, and running two similar services didn’t make sense. Plus, Google Photos is a far superior product. Picasa attracted a loyal fan base over the years, allowing users to edit and organize digital photos long before the introduction of smart-phone cameras.

● Motorola

Lenovo killed off the Motorola name this year. The parent company now blends the two brands together under a “Moto by Lenovo” moniker.

Motorola, the company behind the first walkie-talkie and consumer cell phone, has had a rollercoaster-like few years. It’s been bought and sold twice since 2012. In the first deal, Google acquired Motorola for $12.5 billion, which kicked off the search giant’s step into the hardware business, and then it was sold to Lenovo.

● Google’s Project Ara

Although Google’s modular Ara phone was expected to ship as early as the fall, the company is no longer bringing it to market. Google’s experimental ATAP team spent more than three years developing the innovative concept that would allow people to design their own smart phones.

By using small bricks that look like LEGOs, pieces could be swapped, removed, or attached based on your preferences.

● BlackBerry phones

BlackBerry, known for its cell phones with physical keyboards, is no longer making its own devices. The company announced in September that it will lean instead on partners to manufacture the phones, which will still resemble BlackBerry devices. Its main focus will be on developing software — an effort BlackBerry introduced several years ago amid slow phone sales.

● Vine

Twitter announced in October it was shutting down its beloved short-form video app, Vine — a move that upset its most loyal fans. But recently, the company announced plans to bring it back. The parent company is rebranding the app as Vine Camera, allowing users to take photos and short clips that can be saved to a camera roll or shared on Twitter.

First Published December 31, 2016, 5:00 a.m.