iMore Shuts Down, Archives to Remain
At the now-moribund iMore, Gerald Lynch writes:
Dig out your old iPod and fire up your ‘Songs to cry to’ playlist, I come bearing sad news. After more than 15 years covering everything Apple, it’s with a heavy heart I announce that we will no longer be publishing new content on iMore.
It’s always sad to see a longstanding Apple-focused publication close its doors, but at least iMore’s archives will remain online. I’d be interested to learn more about what drove this business decision—like AnandTech, iMore was owned by publication aggregator Future PLC (see “AnandTech Ceases Publication, Maintains Archives and Forums,” 31 August 2024). Lynch notes:
The world of publishing is forever evolving too, as do the forms of technology journalism that look to shine a light on the industry. iMore leaves the stage at a pivotal crossroads for online publishing, where the battle for readers’ time and attention is more demanding than ever before, and the aforementioned AI advances and search discovery methods further complicate the playing field. It’s been a joy to serve such a passionate readership over the years, but it’s time to pass the baton to new writers, new sites, and new formats.
As we found many years ago, serving ads to eyeballs is a tough business, and I assume that a conflation of factors reduced iMore’s revenues to the point where it was no longer sustainable to generate content.
Well thats a shame, but I can see that as the cause. I avoid web sites that bombard me with ads and don’t allow me to use Reader mode like the plague. I barely have time to read the articles, adding time trying to dodge ads to figure out if the article ended or if there’s more article after I scroll down past all the ads…forget it.
Not surprising since the parent company, Future, is the same one that publishes MacLife and dropped the printed version some time ago.