Apple Adds First iMac Models With Retina 5K Display to Vintage Products List

[MacTDI]

The first iMac with a Retina 5K display is one of several iMac models that have been added to Apple's vintage products list this week.

In the past, vintage Apple products were no longer eligible for repairs at the Genius Bar or at Apple Authorized Service Providers, but Apple began offering extended repairs of select vintage products in 2018. Many of the iMac models listed below will likely remain eligible for service for the foreseeable future, subject to parts availability.

The full list of iMac models added to Apple's vintage products list:

• iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)
• iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)
• iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)

Apple has also added a notice that owners of new iPhone or Mac notebook products purchased after December 31, 2020 in France may obtain service and parts from Apple or Apple authorized service providers for seven years from the date the product model was last supplied by Apple for distribution into the country.

The vintage and obsolete products list has been renamed to "Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty."

Article Link: Apple Adds First iMac Models With Retina 5K Display to Vintage Products List

My iMac was bought new in 2009. It must be classed as prehistoric now lol. Really want a new one some day.

 

[System Of A Down]

Thanks to this news, I'm even happier now that I just received my new M1 MacBook Air.

relevance?

 

[System Of A Down]

Mid-2015. So I can expect my new $4000 27" iMac to only get 5 years of support?

Disappointing.

it's kinda hard to tell if you're joking when there are too many Apple fanbois who shill for more for less.

 

[DimaVR]

I have late 2015 5K and I’m so happy I’m not cut off yet, I hope to get another 2-3 years out of it before I upgrade and same for my iPhone 10 Max pro! I like the 6/7 year upgrade that’s where you get your money worth for sure.

 

[sean+mac]

A slight piss take that a mac sold well into 2016 is now considered vintage. Remember that Mid 2015 was the RELEASE date not the discontinuation date.

I fully accept Apple can't be expected to support every model forever, but 5 years really is not all that long. It was already 4 years ago that the touchbar macs came out.

Going to quote myself on a followup to this (probably the last time I'll message on this thread unless quoted directly, getting a bit cyclical – as forums do – with the new replies not factoring in earlier pages):

I went to look up when they stopped selling the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) referenced in this article and according to EveryMac that model only sold for 5 months: May 19, 2015 through October 13, 2015.

It is also worth considering the date a model was discontinued as the bigger indicator of the future repairability window than the release date (although one cannot possibly know the discontinuation window though when they purchase.)

(Apple states their 5 year / 7 year policy as the minimum before the status changes, based on discontinuation date. Somebody quoted it above.)

The Late 2015 iMac 5K models which followed (all configs) were sold October 13, 2015 – June 5, 2017. So I'd expect those, potentially only purchased a few months later by early model adopters, to still be in a regular repair status through 2022.

So this model was indeed only sold new for less than 5 months in 2015 and not beyond. It was 5 years in October since this model was discontinued, which aligns to their policy.

It is a bit shocking this time because typically most models are sold for 1-3 years after they launch, and not discontinued so quickly. The 2014 models were still sold along side this one and they were all discontinued with the broader Oct 13 2015 refresh.

Here's the MacRumours article on that May release. From doing a bit of reading it was a bit of a strange downmarket configuration of the 2014 models which were also put into vintage status at the same time. Although MacRumor's own article doesn't specifically callout that it was a cheaper offering, some of the top comments point to this. In addition, EveryMac also references that model's changes over the 2014 were all scaled back specs.

Hoorah, a cheaper Retina iMac ... with worse specs. Just like the cheaper Mac Mini, and the cheaper non-Retina iMac. That's definitely in line with Apple's pursuit for perfection.

Compared to the Late 2014 models introduced previously, this model effectively is the same, but has a slower processor, slower graphics processor, and a hard drive instead of a faster "Fusion Drive."

Source: EveryMac

 

[sirozha]

My Late 2014 iMac that I bought in April of 2015 is now “vintage”. Crazy. I just upgraded it with an SSD to replace the HDD in the Fusion Drive a few months ago. I guess my option going forward are either Catalina or Big Sur. There won’t be another OS released for it. And from what I’ve seen so far, Catalina is the way to stay.

My 2012 Mac Mini was supported for 7 years. It’s shocking to me what Apple has been doing lately. Obviously, they are trying to boost revenue by obsoleting perfectly good hardware that can run a new OS for another 5 years worth of macOS updates. Protecting the environment and being green my ass (reference to a famous quote by SJ about Google).

 

[sirozha]

Who said you need to buy a new computer? I have a 2009 MacBook Pro that runs perfectly fine.

With no updates for the last 3-4 years. Not even security updates.

 

[sirozha]

every year their is a new computer so if a computer lasts 6 years at $3000 means that is $500 a year. How much do people spend on iPhones every couple of years?

$0?

 

[sirozha]

Amen to this. I’d be happy to park a new Mini under my existing 2014 5k iMac.

You can’t. Thunderbolt 2 doesn't support 5K. Not enough bandwidth.

 

[sirozha]

I have late 2015 5K and I’m so happy I’m not cut off yet, I hope to get another 2-3 years out of it before I upgrade and same for my iPhone 10 Max pro! I like the 6/7 year upgrade that’s where you get your money worth for sure.

Early 2015 iMac was the same as Late 2014 except it had a slightly updated screen. It’s basically the same exact machine. The Late 2015 iMac was next generation.

 

[Rojaaemon]

Oh, those “vintage” iMacs are the ones I thought about buying, but then I decided to wait a bit longer for the next updated form factor.

 

[bn-7bc]

For some people who don't need faster machines to work on video and photo edits, I think a computer should last at least 5 years, it's crazy that one of these is just from mid 2015...

Well and it has ( at least since release) mid 2015 ( worst case) to late 2020. Your comment. Eake no sence, well is at ,east in consistent, unelss ofc you mean thar a product should recieve full support an warentie 5 years after last sale.

 

[bn-7bc]

My vintage iMac 2015 looks just like the iMac 2020 that is only available on Intel.

Untill you pop the lid off I presume, a case is just a case it’s what’s insude that counts right?

 

[bn-7bc]

Five years is obsolete now? Ugh... just Apple's way to expedite its ties to Intel, I guess.

Maybe I should sell my 2019 iMac and jump on the new one this spring. Not that I'm a fan of being a "beta" tester for a new version of a product.

Good point, Apple probably wants to dump their srock of intel related pars sooner rather than later, now that they are an Intel competitor

 

[Black Magic]

My Late 2014 iMac that I bought in April of 2015 is now “vintage”. Crazy. I just upgraded it with an SSD to replace the HDD in the Fusion Drive a few months ago. I guess my option going forward are either Catalina or Big Sur. There won’t be another OS released for it. And from what I’ve seen so far, Catalina is the way to stay.

My 2012 Mac Mini was supported for 7 years. It’s shocking to me what Apple has been doing lately. Obviously, they are trying to boost revenue by obsoleting perfectly good hardware that can run a new OS for another 5 years worth of macOS updates. Protecting the environment and being green my ass (reference to a famous quote by SJ about Google).

There will be one more major OS update for it.

 

[James_C]

There will be one more major OS update for it.

I doubt that the Late 2014 iMac 27" will get another OS update beyond Big Sur. When Big Sur was released the iMacs prior to 2014 were dropped, the 2014 iMacs are likely to be dropped from the next big MacOS release. We should get security updates for a couple of years, so they are still supported by Apple from a software point of view. I am planning to upgrade mine to Apple Silicon iMac when they are released.

 

[hoodafoo]

I wonder how much resale value is dropped on models that get declared vintage/obsolete

 

[George Dawes]

My quad core 4 ghz i7 32 gig ram 1tb ssd 2015 iMac is headed for the knackers yard ?

Time to get a new Apple Silicon one then ... oh the pain 😆

 

[breather]

The Mid-2015 was a Late 2014 with a slower GPU and sold as a value model while the Late 2014 was still the premium product. These are all Haswell-based systems that are getting the Vintage tag. Skylake (Late-2015) and Kaby Lake (Mid-2017) are more likely to go the full 7 years. I begin to wonder if this is more because of Intel’s security mitigations as much as anything else.

Thank you for clarifying this for me

 

[Vespasian64]

The first iMac with a Retina 5K display is one of several iMac models that have been added to Apple's vintage products list this week.

In the past, vintage Apple products were no longer eligible for repairs at the Genius Bar or at Apple Authorized Service Providers, but Apple began offering extended repairs of select vintage products in 2018. Many of the iMac models listed below will likely remain eligible for service for the foreseeable future, subject to parts availability.

The full list of iMac models added to Apple's vintage products list:

• iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)
• iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)
• iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)

Apple has also added a notice that owners of new iPhone or Mac notebook products purchased after December 31, 2020 in France may obtain service and parts from Apple or Apple authorized service providers for seven years from the date the product model was last supplied by Apple for distribution into the country.

The vintage and obsolete products list has been renamed to "Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty."

Article Link: Apple Adds First iMac Models With Retina 5K Display to Vintage Products List

Delighted with this news. I wonder how many 5 year old PC's are capable of running Microsoft's latest offering. I have always purchased my iMac's on the used market which has never caused me any issues. The planned obsolescence of many items is something manufacturers need to address and this is a good step in that direction. Allowing for ready upgrades to storage, memory should be mandatory.

 

[bobob]

My great-grandpappy had one of them ol' antique Retina 5K's back in the day.

 

[Precursor]

How can they be vintage when the latest one looks exactly the same?

 

[Black Magic]

I doubt that the Late 2014 iMac 27" will get another OS update beyond Big Sur. When Big Sur was released the iMacs prior to 2014 were dropped, the 2014 iMacs are likely to be dropped from the next big MacOS release. We should get security updates for a couple of years, so they are still supported by Apple from a software point of view. I am planning to upgrade mine to Apple Silicon iMac when they are released.

Supported for 7 Years. This is the 6th year. There will be one more OS update. I plan to upgrade mine Apple Silicon one as well. I am considering doing a current trade up for a 2020 Intel one as you can still get good value.

 

[Alwis]

How can they be vintage when the latest one looks exactly the same?

Not really, the surface finish of my 2014 iMac looks better than that of my 2020 iMac...

 

[James_C]

Supported for 7 Years. This is the 6th year. There will be one more OS update.

How do you know that the 2014 will get a new version of MacOS - where have Apple said that it will get 7 years of OS Updates ? Supported just means that they will get security updates to the last available version of MacOS, not necessarily new versions of MacOS. Apple tends to issue security updates for the last two versions of MacOS.