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Apple Says iPhone 6 Plus Now 'Obsolete' and iPad Mini 4 Now 'Vintage'

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Apple today added a handful of devices to its public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, including some older iPhone and iPad models.

a-iphone-6-plus-ad.jpg

Apple now considers the iPhone 6 Plus to be "obsolete" worldwide, meaning that Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers no longer offer repairs or other hardware service for the device. Apple says it considers a product "obsolete" once seven years have passed since the company last distributed it for sale.

Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September 2014, with key features including larger screens than previous models and Apple Pay support. Apple discontinued the iPhone 6 Plus in September 2016, but the iPhone 6 remained available through resellers in select countries for a few more years, so it is not yet considered "obsolete."

On the software side, iOS 13 dropped support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2019.

As for the iPad, Apple now considers the fourth-generation iPad mini to be "vintage," meaning that more than five years have passed since the company stopped distributing the device for sale. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers continue to offer repairs for vintage products for up to two more years, subject to parts availability.

Apple also added the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to its "vintage" products list, but in the (PRODUCT)RED color only. The devices remained available in other colors for longer, so those colors are not "vintage" yet.

Article Link: Apple Says iPhone 6 Plus Now 'Obsolete' and iPad Mini 4 Now 'Vintage'
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/04/01/apple-says-iphone-6-plus-is-now-obsolete/
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  • Wow
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jumpcats1234 said:
I won’t believe until it’s April 2nd, I know people who still use the iphone 6 and ipad mini and don’t want to upgrade.
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Maybe you're joking ? but Apple wouldn't joke about this...

iPhone 6 came out a decade ago. It's not worth them supporting anymore. Those people who don't want to upgrade don't need to but if anything happens it's on them. They should not expect Apple to support such old hardware.
 
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contacos said:
Still one of the best designs and every time I pick up the iPhone 6 I am impressed how light it was! Even the 7 Plus is like wow that’s light. What happened.
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people wanted larger screens (more glass), larger battery capacity, better cameras. That means adding more thickness/materials = more weight.

Apple was too obsessed with how thin and light the iPhone was. I'm glad they have been making phones bigger.
 
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SnarkyBear said:
"Apple also added the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to its "vintage" products list, but in the (PRODUCT)RED color only."

Does the color of the phone make the parts different? This seems an odd reason for an iPhone 8 to become vintage.
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Yes, it could. It's a different colour. That means a different production line. For some reason Apple decided it's not worth maintaining that line anymore. It's not necessarily about the hardware or software of the iPhone itself. It's quite specific but a valid decision to make.
 
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contacos said:
Still one of the best designs and every time I pick up the iPhone 6 I am impressed how light it was! Even the 7 Plus is like wow that’s light. What happened.
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It sure was beautiful and light, however, I did have one bend like a piece of cardboard. Just while sitting down with the thing in the front pocket of my jeans. Couldn’t imagine that happening with my previous 4 or the 13 that I have now.
 
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lenger said:
It sure was beautiful and light, however, I did have one bend like a piece of cardboard. Just while sitting down with the thing in the front pocket of my jeans. Couldn’t imagine that happening with my previous 4 or the 13 that I have now.
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that's when bendgate was born. apple went too far with making the iphone thin and light. it was a great design to look at (except the huge bezels) but had lots of functional issues.
 
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contacos said:
Still one of the best designs and every time I pick up the iPhone 6 I am impressed how light it was! Even the 7 Plus is like wow that’s light. What happened.
Click to expand...

For me this was the pinnacle of smartphone design. I totally get it, larger screens, larger batteries, larger camera housings. But I still really love the design language and still get impressed when I handle an old iPhone 6 I have sitting in my drawer powering my iMessage.
 
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krspkbl said:
Yes, it could. It's a different colour. That means a different production line. For some reason Apple decided it's not worth maintaining that line anymore. It's not necessarily about the hardware or software of the iPhone itself. It's quite specific but a valid decision to make.
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Don't they vintage hardware they can no longer replace under Apple Care? It that is the case, they probably ran out out Product Red parts to repairs.
 
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spinedoc77 said:
For me this was the pinnacle of smartphone design. I totally get it, larger screens, larger batteries, larger camera housings. But I still really love the design language and still get impressed when I handle an old iPhone 6 I have sitting in my drawer powering my iMessage.
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If they released a 6 with much stronger chasis, edge to edge screen, good quality camera, while maintain a reasonable battery life i'd probably buy it. I don't think any of the recent iPhones are thick but yes the design of the 6 was really special at the time and I have fond memories of it.

the look of the phone except the bezels still holds up but there are issues with it that would need fixing if it were to come back.
 
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