Apple Adds These 12 Macs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Lists

[MacRumors]

Apple today added three Mac models to its vintage products list, and moved an additional nine Mac models from the vintage list to its obsolete products list.

The following Macs are now classified as vintage:

• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, 2 Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, 4 Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

The following Macs are now classified as obsolete:

• MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
• MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, 2 Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, 4 Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
• MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
• iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)
• iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

Apple considers a device to be "vintage" once more than five years have passed since the company stopped distributing it for sale. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers can continue to offer repairs for vintage products for up to two additional years, but only if Apple still has repair parts available for the device.

Apple considers a device to be "obsolete" once more than seven years have passed since the company stopped distributing it for sale. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers typically do not repair obsolete products, but MacBook battery replacements may remain available for up to 10 years after the device was last distributed.

Article Link: Apple Adds These 12 Macs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Lists

 

[abatabia]

I still miss my late 2015 27” iMac, even though I sold it 4 years ago.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I love Vintage Macs!

My obsolete and vintage 2015 15" MBP continues to perform sensationally!

Same with my obsolete and vintage iPhone SE1 fleet!

 

[Spock]

It it weren't for that terrible keyboard, I wouldn't mind having a 12 inch MacBook in my collection now that they are almost all obsolete

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

 

[Spock]

I love Vintage Macs!

My obsolete and vintage 2015 15" MBP continues to perform sensationally!

Same with my obsolete and vintage iPhone SE1 fleet!

I still use my 2014 Retina MacBook Pro 13 inch all the time, it is a little slow sometimes but it works just fine.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It it weren't for that terrible keyboard, I wouldn't mind having a 12 inch MacBook in my collection now that they are almost all obsolete

I still can't believe the Apple Silicon era hasn't yielded a new "tiny MacBook"

It's the one type of machine I would have guaranteed we'd finally get once they shed Intel

..and yet... nada

 

[Blackstick]

Vintage only matters for service in the state of California. Elsewhere, vintage = obsolete.

 

[Spock]

I still can't believe the Apple Silicon era hasn't yielded a new "tiny MacBook"

It's the one type of machine I would have guaranteed we'd finally get once they shed Intel

..and yet... nada

As a huge fan of my old 12 inch PowerBook G4, I would buy day one.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Guess my 2012 Air is probably vintage and obsolete.

 

[now i see it]

I didn’t see my 2007 Mac Mini on the list. It must still be supported

 

[Remy149]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

They are still selling m1 MacBook airs at Walmart so that model will be supported for a long time

 

[mdnz]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

The M1s are too good. Apple has to make them vintage on the same time schedule to get people to upgrade.

 

[jonnysods]

Man I feel old reading this.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

HaHa. Let's check again at year 5 and 7... if they are not tagged with these tags SOONER than historical norms.

Shareholders need to feed their families. 💰💰💰

Does M1 have the power? Yes... but so do these devices vintaged and called obsolete today. People installing that OCLP hack are proving every day that old Macs can run new macOS just fine. The Corp simply decides that it's time to try to push people to buy new again.

 

[Mr. Nice]

Apple likes to be so green,
but MacOS updates end after about 5 years. Then 2 years of security updates.
That's ridiculous. The Macs with M processors and Retina Display...
you can easily use them for 10 years from the hardware, too bad that they are neutered by Apple.

It's sad when you look at how long current Windows or Linux versions can be used on an old computer.

Shame on you, Apple.

 

[PotentPeas]

It's sad when you look at how long current Windows or Linux versions can be used on an old computer.

(Devil's advocate)

Microsoft *used to* be good about this, but Windows 11 launched in 2021 and only supported CPUs released in 2018 or later. Systems more than three years old couldn't get the upgrade.

(I do agree that if you want to use your computer "forever", Linux is a great choice.)

Honestly, we don't know what Apple is going to do with Apple Silicon systems yet. None of them have gone out of support. I'd be surprised if they offer major software updates for less than seven years (that's what iPhones are currently getting).

 

[NMBob]

Guess my 2012 Air is probably vintage and obsolete.

My 13" Mid-2012 also. It will only go as far as Catalina, which is getting problematic...have no interest in the new ones, though.

 

[zorinlynx]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

I've become increasingly curious when the first Apple Silicon Macs will stop getting new MacOS releases.

The very first M1 machines are around four years old now and are still very capable. Will Apple obsolete them sooner than they have to in order to sell newer Macs, or support them longer than they supported Intel Macs? Guess we'll find out in the next few years.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

HaHa. Let's check again at year 5 and 7... if they are not tagged with these tags SOONER than historical norms.

Shareholders need to feed their families. 💰💰💰

Does M1 have the power? Yes... but so do these devices vintaged and called obsolete today. People installing that OCLP hack are proving every day that old Macs can run new macOS just fine. The Corp simply decides that it's time to try to push people to buy new again.

Don't disagree, as my 2011 3.4Ghz i7 iMac 27" is a brick now. I was able to take it to Ventura using hacks here and there, but it's just too much of a pain in the donkey to keep working... I might as well take it back to High Sierra and just install Windows on it and use that (not sure if that'll even work).

But the real line of demarcation seems to be Apple Silicon, so we'll see what happens.

 

[orbital~debris]

Article Link: Apple Adds These 12 Macs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Lists

MR, can't the post headline just read: Apple Adds 12 Macs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Lists (i.e. remove the 'these') and give the details in the post itself? That's how headlines and articles/posts usually work; readers expect to find the details within anyway, so 'these' is redundant.

This headline just sounds click-baitey and very "this one weird trick".

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

I hope so! I haven't even begun to consider replacing my M1 Air.

 

[jimimac71]

I don't believe Apple or Microsoft should decide when a product needs to be retired.
Some Chromebooks are getting 10 to 12 years of support.

 

[Orange Bat]

I believe that M1 resets that clock. Apple Silicon seems to have mad legs.

I agree. Not only do I think the M1 processors will be pretty good for the next 6 years or more, but I also think it’s in Apple’s interest to support them for at least 10 years. Any pro Mac users are probably on a 2-5 year upgrade cycle as it is, so it‘s nothing but a good sales pitch to offer At least 10 years of support.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I don't believe Apple or Microsoft should decide when a product needs to be retired.
Some Chromebooks are getting 10 to 12 years of support.

They don't, the end-user does. Obsolete doesn't mean it stops working.