Apple to Mark Several iMac Models as Obsolete Later This Month

[MacRumors]

Apple plans to mark several 2013 and 2014 iMac models as obsolete at the end of this month, the company said in a memo obtained by MacRumors.

In the memo, Apple said the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac from Late 2013, the Mid 2014 21.5-inch iMac, and the Retina 5K 27-inch iMac from late 2014 will be marked as obsolete on November 30, 2022. When marked as an obsolete product, the iMacs will no longer be eligible for any repairs and services. The list of vintage and obsolete products can be found on Apple's website.

Article Link: Apple to Mark Several iMac Models as Obsolete Later This Month

 

[Ryan H]

Well they lasted a bit longer than the 2016 MBP anyway!

 

[gpat]

Original 5K retina users being obsoleted, and no suitable replacement in the lineup.
Huh.

 

[Miha_v]

Can't believe these computers still look so damn good, everlasting design IMO
(typing this on a 2017 iMac )

 

[jacou]

I guess they're talking about this one 😁

 

[ProfessionalFan]

Original 5K retina users being obsoleted, and no suitable replacement in the lineup.
Huh.

Sure seems like the "replacement" is being considered to be a Mac Studio + Mac Studio Display.

That's what I went for and love it.

You are right though, not suitable for some people.

 

[David1964]

I guess Ventura will be the last year of support for my 2017 iMac ? Should still get security updates for a few more years though.

 

[petitpiton]

I guess they're talking about this one 😁

A 2013 iMac on Ventura! DOSDude?

 

[petitpiton]

I guess Ventura will be the last year of support for my 2017 iMac ? Should still get security updates for a few more years though.

Security patches are usually provided for the previous 2 major releases.

 

[lowkey]

Just clean installed Monterey on my late 2014 4Ghz i7 machine with 32GB ram and a 512GB SSD.

It ran out of puff for real-time plug in use with Cubase and Logic, but it’s still an awesome machine after 8 years for general business use, Indesign, office suite, internet etc.

No way it’s obsolete.

 

[petitpiton]

Wish I could use my Late-2014 27" iMac as an external display for an Apple Silicon Mini... That would be better for the planet surely than junking it as obsolete and buying 2 boxes!
(btw I know it's not possible)

 

[petitpiton]

Just clean installed Monterey on my late 2014 4Ghz i7 machine with 32GB ram and a 512GB SSD.

It ran out of puff for real-time plug in use with Cubase and Logic, but it’s still an awesome machine after 8 years for general business use, Indesign, office suite, internet etc.

No way it’s obsolete.

Late-2014 isn't supported on Monterey though?

 

[rotlex]

2017 27" iMac owner here. Really wishing they would have come up with a replacement before "obsoleting" this still more than capable computer. Sure, the Mac Studio plus an external display could work, but I'm just not willing to go that far in price. The 27" iMac, for the price, is simply the best all around computer I've ever owned.

 

[tomscott1988]

Wish I could use my Late-2014 27" iMac as an external display for an Apple Silicon Mini... That would be better for the planet surely than junking it as obsolete and buying 2 boxes!
(btw I know it's not possible)

If you gut them and buy a conversion board you can use it as an external.

There's a few kick starters like Juicy Crumb are building templates to mount a M1 Mac mini board inside with the connectors for the rear IO etc

Juicy Crumb - 2011 27" iMac Upgrade Logic Board

Turn your old Mac into a custom display, dock, or fully fledged computer!

www.kickstarter.com

It won't be long before you can do all the old iMacs.

Ive been thinking about upgrading my 2017 iMac but the 7700k is still expensive and upgrading all the storage its probably a £300 upgrade on a machine that will still be half the speed of my M1 MacBook. When an M1 Mac mini is like £600.

Just dont want to spend £1500 on a display that I technically already own.

 

[Dr Kevorkian94]

I installed Ventura on my Late 2015 5k iMac and apart from a sleep/wake issue it runs fine. Replaced the fusion drive with an ssd and maxed the memory to 32gb. I hope to keep running it/frankenstein-ing it till it craps out. Works great for general use and most of my work is using cloud compute so I can use it for work as well. I understand Apple wants us to apple silicon but in the current env who has ~$2000+ to just drop on a new machine? The current iMac would probably suit my needs now but if i wanted to future proof/start a serious side hustle its a pass, hopefully a “pro“ version of the iMac is in the works.

 

[Smartuser]

Well they lasted a bit longer than the 2016 MBP anyway!

That one isn't obsolete. Look it up.

 

[gsmornot]

My 2017 iMac is still running great. I have been wondering what its replacement will be since there is not another current 27”.

 

[Smartuser]

I installed Ventura on my Late 2015 5k iMac and apart from a sleep/wake issue it runs fine. Replaced the fusion drive with an ssd and maxed the memory to 32gb. I hope to keep running it/frankenstein-ing it till it craps out. Works great for general use and most of my work is using compute so I can use it for work as well. I understand Apple wants us to apple silicon but in the current env who has ~$2000+ to just drop on a new machine? The current iMac would probably suit my needs now but if i wanted to future proof/start a serious side hustle its a pass, hopefully a “pro“ version of the iMac is in the works.

The actual maximum memory on that one is 64 GB. Check out this. I can confirm this because I have it with that memory config.

Any further 27+ inch iMacs are a pure fantasy at this point. Anything can happen of course, but there is no information to back up that anything like that would be in the pipeline I the foreseeable future.

The money is of course everyone's personal issue, but if I'd need a computer for work, I'd try to save up something over the years.

 

[PBMB]

My 2017 iMac is still running great. I have been wondering what its replacement will be since there is not another current 27”.

Perhaps M1 iMac 24-inch? This is the closest you can get today. The combination Mac Studio + Studio Display is way too expensive and powerful for most users. Definitely not an iMac 27-inch replacement.

 

[Bug-Creator]

So who brought a 8 year old Mac into an Apple-Store for service?


Otherwise it's a total non news with 0 effect to anything.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

I know that people who have these will be sad. But on the flipside to get 8 years from these iMac's, you can certainly say that you got your monies worth from these machines.

 

[PsykX]

They can do whatever they want, but they should categorize hardware as obsolete only after releasing new hardware IMO.

Like, release new iMacs (or equivalent) and then mark the old models as obsolete.

 

[McJobs]

Deleted.

 

[darngooddesign]

Wish I could use my Late-2014 27" iMac as an external display for an Apple Silicon Mini...

Does target display mode work on yours?

What about something like the Luna Display dongle?

 

[Marx55]

All-in-one (AIO) desktop computers like the iMac should not be allowed. You throw away an expensive display that is working perfectly. And worse of all, you cannot use Display Target Mode with latest iMacs. Is Apple protecting the environment or is this programmed obsolescence?