An example of the parallel in consumer products is the way in which the typewriter became displaced (or extinct) due to pressures from the personal computer.
Products lines can be seen to incrementally change and branch over time following the principle of phyletic gradualism.
Ecosystem Theory provides a conceptual framework that helps designers and others understand the mechanisms underpinning product innovation in a tangible and visual way.
The term was first used in this context by Tim Williams in 2013 in a paper he wrote with Marianella Chamorro-Koc.
[1] This paper proposed a methodology for understanding the difficulties of implementation for disruptive innovation based on a case study of the MIT City Car.