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Apple Classifies Early 2013 21.5-inch iMac as Obsolete
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Yep. The in-laws 24” 2007 iMac bought new still runs fine for their needs. I replaced the HDD in 2013 but otherwise it’s the original machine.
It's now hip to have obsolete & retired Apple products.
*posted from my Mid 2011 MacBook Air*
edit: come to think of it, it's still a decent machine. I'm just waiting on the day the back light dies...
*posted from my Mid 2011 MacBook Air*
edit: come to think of it, it's still a decent machine. I'm just waiting on the day the back light dies...
The problem with the 2012 Mac Pro is that it uses the same CPUs as the 2009 and 2010 Macs. The CPUs in these machines have serious vulnerabilities and Intel is choosing not to patch them with microcode. So I think that is why Apple is just doing away with them.
I've installed Windows 10 on my 2009 Mac Pro, but support is poor. Boot camp drivers are iffy, but it works with tinkering.
You haven't been running any GPU-dependent apps then. The Pre-GCN drivers were only released in beta form and are unusably buggy. Multiple DirectX 9 applications will cause a hard crash. Otherwise, the driver leaks RAM and using an app like Chrome will fill your memory in a few days and require a reboot. Went through this with a fleet of Dells.
On top of that, it's a security risk to run non-current GPU drivers, especially ones that predate the Intel side channel bugs.
I use the install for console and arcade video game emulators, and PC games. I've had no issues whatsoever. I'm not saying that you're wrong in your assessment, but my experience is definitely different than the scenario that you've described. If it's any clue, I am using the most recent Boot Camp drivers, and keep them updated.
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"Form over function" was all people were saying when the Retinas came out. No optical drive! No Ethernet! No removable battery! Rose-tinted glasses...
First they came for the ethernet port, but I did not speak out - because I did not use the ethernet port.
Then they came for user upgradable storage and ram, but I did not care, because I never upgraded either.
Then they came for our working scissor-switch keyboards, but I did not care, because I used a bluetooth keyboard.
Finally they turned my macbook pro into a glorified ipad, and I spoke out, but it fell on deaf ears, because there was almost no pro users left to protest alongside me.
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Real amazing how my iMac has gone through an entire lifecycle from brand new to obsolete, and it still works perfectly and is receiving new macOS updates. All I did was update the RAM once.
More still, I don’t plan on updating my iMac any time soon so it’s going beyond its life cycle as a fully functioning Mac. Contrast that with when I was on Windows PCs and I had to get a new PC every 3 years if I wanted to keep up, and by then, my PC was an utter useless sludge.
More still, I don’t plan on updating my iMac any time soon so it’s going beyond its life cycle as a fully functioning Mac. Contrast that with when I was on Windows PCs and I had to get a new PC every 3 years if I wanted to keep up, and by then, my PC was an utter useless sludge.
I use a Triassic period late 2009 iMac 27", funny enough it still works, funny enough, I can't tell the difference either with the only change to a 512 mb SSD?
You can use that machine for another 10 years if you want. People like you seem to act like once Apple declares a system obsolete it disintegrates on the spot.
This makes me an easy as I won a 2015 MBP which literally still feels new and more than capable
Yep, same macbook pro with screen issues. Same macbook pro with exploding batteries and currently is on recall from APPLE at this time. I agree with you totally. Best macbook pro ever!
This means my iMac is probably going to be considered obsolete next year. Honestly, with the fusion drive it still feels like it runs fast so I can't see replacing it for a long while.
And that's fine.
However this isn't what apple mean by obsolete. As above, they can only provide support for machines that have developer support and hardware support available from the OEMs who produce the internal components.
Given the source OEMs have stopped production and sale (and likely, support) of the components, Apple's hands are tied.
As a hypothetical example: a new intel CPU flaw is discovered in these 5-6+ year old machines. If apple have them under "support" then they're on the hook to provide a fix. For something that intel will perhaps no longer support via a microcode update (for example). Apple are then between a rock and a hard place.
Whether or not they are still fast enough or actually switch on and work is irrelevant. "Under support" and "work" are two entirely different things.
I have Cisco networking devices from 12-15 years ago that still work just fine. However support on them expired long ago.
FYI I brought mine in to an Apple Store to get the top case replaced this past weekend (battery swelling) and they told me it's a good thing I brought it in when I did because it's going vintage after this week (so next monday, 9/30).
Damn, that means my 2014 Mini is getting closer to the chopping block. That'll be a tough call. Maybe by then I'll finally be ready for a strictly Unix box as a file server - most of my work is done on my 2015 rMBP and my Mini is mostly a remote server that I use desktop sharing for.
It's not a "chopping block." The only thing this affects is whether Apple will have repair parts in stock, and whether Apple will perform hardware repairs. Independent repair shops will still work on them, provided they can get the parts. For some parts that may be a problem, but for things like HDDs, no problem at all.
Meantime, Apple still supports current OSes, regardless of the machine they're running on. Most of the time, the current macOS will run on 7-year-old and even older machines.
Altogether, this thread is an example of 100% gold-standard click-bait, guaranteed to attract 100+ posts every time. Apple runs by a strict 5-year clock for "Vintage" status, and 7 years for "Obsolete." 5 years after the last unit of a model rolls off the assembly line, that model will become "Vintage." Two years later, it will be "Obsolete." This is not unpredictable, capricious behavior. It is highly consistent. While it may technically be "news," it's hardly unexpected news.
It's as if a newspaper posted a headline every day, "Somebody retired today." Duh! Time marches on, everything and everybody gets older. The nature of time does not change from day to day, and Apple's criteria for Vintage and Obsolete has not changed. Tick tock, tick tock.