Like you, it's been the best performer compared to 2 other newer iMacs. It's not clear to me if the operating system will continue to be updated - quite frankly, if they didn't do another thing, I feel my late 2012 will last another 6 years.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Adding Late 2012 iMacs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Pilot Program at End of January
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Like you, it's been the best performer compared to 2 other newer iMacs. It's not clear to me if the operating system will continue to be updated - quite frankly, if they didn't do another thing, I feel my late 2012 will last another 6 years.
Apple is subject to the laws of each country it operates. Apple is required to do lots for customers if the law says they must. 10 years support is fine. They can do it.
[doublepost=1547229010][/doublepost]
Apple’s a smart company. They know how many parts they will require. Nothing is going to trash. 10 years is fine.
[doublepost=1547229144][/doublepost]
Apple knows many parts is needed.
Unfortunately for you, you're not the ceo of apple nor a legislator. for that reason, 10 years won't be coming of non-obsoleting in usa. sorry to break it to ya, kiddo.
As far as I’m concerned, all new Apple products are on the Obsolete List, beacuse they’re defective by design.
In an internal memo distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that Late 2012 model 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs will be added to its vintage and obsolete products list on January 30.
Vintage and obsolete products are typically no longer eligible for repairs or replacement parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, but the memo states Late 2012 model iMacs will be eligible for Apple's pilot program that will permit extended service through January 30, 2021 worldwide, subject to parts availability.
Other products in the pilot program include the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, Mid 2012 models of the MacBook Air and Mac Pro, and Mid 2012 to Early 2013 models of the MacBook Pro. The program began in January 2018 and was expanded in August.
Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than five years, according to Apple.
Article Link: Apple Adding Late 2012 iMacs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Pilot Program at End of January
Lacks a headphone jack? DEFECTIVE!
Lacks a lightning port if iOS device? DEFECTIVE!!
Lacks USB-A 3.x portSSSSS (plural) if a Mac? DEFECTIVE!!!
Lacks ability to interface with the ORIGINAL iApple iPencil (the round one) if an iFad? DE. FECT. IVE !!!!!
The only one they make that isn't is the iPod, and since it’s basically just an iPhone 5 minus the phone part... DEFECTIVE!
APPLE. THE NEW MICROSOFT.
[doublepost=1547233442][/doublepost]
SECOND AND THIRD!
As previously mentioned, you could have simply purchased an external thunderbolt SSD drive, kept a completely personal operating system and private system you could take with you....
Couldn't agree more. Apple always touting how it is reducing environmental impacts is just plain misleading when you only support products for 7 years. Their sustainable achievements to date are strictly to make them look good to the general public which pull the investors strings via sales, their impact on this earth is far greater than most understand. If they really wanted to make an impact, develop lite software for the majority of us who don't flex the computers / devices full strength, like gamers, programmers, designers etc. do. I simply don't need a new faster computer / device every 4 or 5 years. My 2008 iMac is still going string as a Safari / Music only "garage" computer. There's no reason it couldn't go another 5 years.
Looking back, how close do these End-Of-Life announcements come relative to new product announcements?
The Al enclosure came out in 2007 -- 11.5 years ago. Over HALF of the iMac's life has been encased in the dull, gray metal despite having begun with something fresh, light, colorful and a bit fun. I miss that aspect of iMac!
I'd love there to be a separation:
iMacs: Smaller, new material for enclosure (e.g. translucent composite of some kind maybe?) in the $1,000 - $1700 range, and
Mid-Rangem AIO Macs: Wider screens, more in line with what specs would be today for a 2019 iMac, priced in the $1,500 - $3,000 range.
#AluminumIsTheNewBeige
The Al enclosure came out in 2007 -- 11.5 years ago. Over HALF of the iMac's life has been encased in the dull, gray metal despite having begun with something fresh, light, colorful and a bit fun. I miss that aspect of iMac!
I'd love there to be a separation:
iMacs: Smaller, new material for enclosure (e.g. translucent composite of some kind maybe?) in the $1,000 - $1700 range, and
Mid-Rangem AIO Macs: Wider screens, more in line with what specs would be today for a 2019 iMac, priced in the $1,500 - $3,000 range.
#AluminumIsTheNewBeige
Great, my iMac is now old 
My only ever issue was the HDD failed about 3 years ago, luckily it was just before the Apple care ran out so was covered. Still lost a butt load of files as the TimeMachine HDD failed at the same time, talk about bad timing. Got a 2nd backup HDD in the loop now.
But overall its been a great iMac, the Fusion drive can be a little slow to fire up the the HDD at times and I will I'd opted for the bigger internal HDD but it still feels fast and does what I need.
Hope it hands on as I can't afford a new one right now.
My only ever issue was the HDD failed about 3 years ago, luckily it was just before the Apple care ran out so was covered. Still lost a butt load of files as the TimeMachine HDD failed at the same time, talk about bad timing. Got a 2nd backup HDD in the loop now.
But overall its been a great iMac, the Fusion drive can be a little slow to fire up the the HDD at times and I will I'd opted for the bigger internal HDD but it still feels fast and does what I need.
Hope it hands on as I can't afford a new one right now.
I remember ordering my 21" iMac with the 2.9GHz i5 as soon as they went live on the Apple site.
Its my first iMac and still working brilliantly to this day, never once been to Apple. It doesn't do any heavy lifting and has had an easy life to be fair so I expect it to go on for a few more years. Maybe one day I'll look at replacing it but for now, it'll soldier on!
Its my first iMac and still working brilliantly to this day, never once been to Apple. It doesn't do any heavy lifting and has had an easy life to be fair so I expect it to go on for a few more years. Maybe one day I'll look at replacing it but for now, it'll soldier on!
ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I'm on the verge of selling my 2009 17" mid-2009 MacBook Pro, and it'll still give its new owner many years of life.
This stinks considering how we're going 4+ years between hardware refreshes. Pretty soon the entire of Apple's line will be EOL and just iPads.
[doublepost=1547241348][/doublepost]Oh btw, I guess that means my 2012 MacBook Pro 15 inch Retina is *now* EOL :/
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/18/2012-15-inch-rmbp-not-vintage-til-end-of-2018/
[doublepost=1547241348][/doublepost]Oh btw, I guess that means my 2012 MacBook Pro 15 inch Retina is *now* EOL :/
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/18/2012-15-inch-rmbp-not-vintage-til-end-of-2018/
Last edited:
RIP cheesgrater Mac Pro
The trash can will be following on next year...
But they still hold up in today’s market lol!
The trash can will be following on next year...
But they still hold up in today’s market lol!
Well that's my Late 2012 27 inch iMac going vintage.
Not really bothered, as I'm going to use it until something breaks on it and then get a new one. At the age it is, it wouldn't be wise to pay to repair it, as 6+ years of use is not bad for a computer. Wiser to put the money towards a new iMac.
Currently it performs really well for what I do, and see no point in replacing it, while it's still working fine.
I have to say it hasn't been the most reliable computer I've owned, but it was my first Mac, and despite this I find it the best computer I've owned for a long time.
Thankfully some of the repairs were done when covered with Apple Care (replacement screen due to horizontal line appearing across the screen).
Last lot of repairs were replacement hard drive and replacement fan (had to pay for these). But other than that there all the problems I've had.
Pleased I went with the Fusion Drive model. Next time around I want to go full SSD/Flash
Not really bothered, as I'm going to use it until something breaks on it and then get a new one. At the age it is, it wouldn't be wise to pay to repair it, as 6+ years of use is not bad for a computer. Wiser to put the money towards a new iMac.
Currently it performs really well for what I do, and see no point in replacing it, while it's still working fine.
I have to say it hasn't been the most reliable computer I've owned, but it was my first Mac, and despite this I find it the best computer I've owned for a long time.
Thankfully some of the repairs were done when covered with Apple Care (replacement screen due to horizontal line appearing across the screen).
Last lot of repairs were replacement hard drive and replacement fan (had to pay for these). But other than that there all the problems I've had.
Pleased I went with the Fusion Drive model. Next time around I want to go full SSD/Flash
Agree you cant go in there all guns ablazing. Be gentle with it though and you wont break anything. For those who have trouble being gentle with things, then its not recommended. But for those who are patient and gentle it really is no big deal to open up imacs and replace the hard drive with an SSD.
They may be calling them vintage, but the 2012 and 2013 iMac both have Kepler GPU's so are the going to limit it based on the fact that it's Ivy Bridge? But they sold the 2012 MacBook Pro 13" (Ivy Bridge) well into October 2016. So they can't remove Ivy Bridge Kexts yet. This is going to be interesting how they are going to artificially prevent the 2012 iMac from running 10.15 but we'll see...
Yeah it’s old, but it won’t be “vintage” until at 2024 at the earliest.At this rate the 2013 Mac Pro will be 'vintage' yet still on sale....
I’d still use mine if it weren’t for the busted graphics card - had no idea about a recall. Can’t find a replacement - just a boat anchor on my desk as I wait for their next release.Getting all I can out of my 2011 iMac with optical CD drive.
Because the parts are on limited supply which means they may not be available for all repairs that come through. But they are saying on a case by case basis, which means, they are at least willing to look and if they have the parts than they can repair. Using the Vintage label, leaves no mistake about there may be a limitation, that your Mac may not be able to be repaired. At least that's how I read it.
I'm trying to figure out why everyone is up in arms. We upgrade our cars on a shorter product cycle. For our houses, you can't call the water heater manufacturer after 7 years and say come fix it, they'll refer you to a local company and if that company can't find parts or botch it up more, you'll end up buying a new water heater.
I'm a realtor, I get calls from clients that their roof failed, ummm the inspection said the roof looked to be so many years old, the seller said they last replaced it xyz years ago, or it was existing when they bought it...How are you trying to sue the seller when they told you, hey this is the age or I can't accurately account for something I didn't replace. SMH.
I wish people would just flow with it. Look before most of us bought Macs, you couldn't call Microsoft and say my PC cuts on and off, they would walk you through the Windows side of things at a cost whether they can fix it or not and say call the company that built that PC and that company will say buy another one, or upgrade the parts if you can find them.
I have a Late 2009 iMac, it still kicks, starting up is slow but once it's up it's good, it didn't get Mojave support, I'm fine with that because that doesn't stop me from using it, it still runs High Sierra. If I need to do something that's only a Mojave feature I get on my 2015 iMac.
My bottom line is, from a consumer standpoint, Apple has one of the best "we'll try to keep helping as long as possible" policies. You don't get that with most consumer electronic brands.
If you contact them and the issue is software related, they help with the extent of the issue coming down to being 3rd party software.
[doublepost=1547249697][/doublepost]
All I read was, "It's time for you to explore other product brands that suit your needs as an enduser"
If a company doesn't give what I need, I branch out my options, I don't buy it and hope it just magically will work for my needs.
My 2007 iMac, the first of the ALs, is still running.
Well, "running" is an overstatement: More like walking with labored breathing from one room to the next wondering what it came in here for, but still going...
Well, "running" is an overstatement: More like walking with labored breathing from one room to the next wondering what it came in here for, but still going...
[doublepost=1547263112][/doublepost]7 years old design. That’s all see
In an internal memo distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that Late 2012 model 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs will be added to its vintage and obsolete products list on January 30.
Vintage and obsolete products are typically no longer eligible for repairs or replacement parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, but the memo states Late 2012 model iMacs will be eligible for Apple's pilot program that will permit extended service through January 30, 2021 worldwide, subject to parts availability.
Other products in the pilot program include the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, Mid 2012 models of the MacBook Air and Mac Pro, and Mid 2012 to Early 2013 models of the MacBook Pro. The program began in January 2018 and was expanded in August.
Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than five years, according to Apple.
Article Link: Apple Adding Late 2012 iMacs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Pilot Program at End of January
