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Other Which iPhone's does Apple still manufacture? What does 'discontinued' actually mean?

J

Jon80

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 15, 2017
10
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Apologies if this is a well trodden topic, but I noticed all the media reports to apple 'discontinuing' phones like the iPhone X and iPhone 6s, yet these phones are widely available new just never from Apple themselves.

So,
1) Which iPhones do Apple still manufacture?
2) How can one know this / keep track of it?
3) What does 'discontinued' actually mean then?!
 
1) Apple manufactures the 7, 8, XR, XS lines
2) Any you can buy online are being "manufactured"
3) Discontinued means they're no longer being manufactured. iPhone X has been discontinued, for example. So has the 6 and 6s. They're still "supported" (meaning they get software updates, although iPhone 6 is being removed from iOS 13 IIRC) but they don't make any new ones.
 
AustinIllini said:
1) Apple manufactures the 7, 8, XR, XS lines
2) Any you can buy online are being "manufactured"
3) Discontinued means they're no longer being manufactured. iPhone X has been discontinued, for example. So has the 6 and 6s. They're still "supported" (meaning they get software updates, although iPhone 6 is being removed from iOS 13 IIRC) but they don't make any new ones.
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You see, that's what I thought.
Yet this MacRumors article from Sept 2018 says apple discontinued iPhone 6s.https://www.macrumors.com/2018/09/12/apple-discontinues-iphone-se-iphone-6s-iphone-x/

Yet this from July 2019 says they are exporting them from India!https://www.macrumors.com/2019/07/11/apple-exporting-iphone-india-europe/

I can't believe huge resellers like Amazon and the worlds biggest carriers are selling tens of thousands of 'new' iPhones that are old stock.
 
AustinIllini said:
That's me being a bit US-centric. They may be still manufacturing other phones for different markets.
Click to expand...
Ah, fair enough. I'm in the UK here - but looking at US sites, Amazon, AT&T etc they are selling new X's and 6s's.
 
If the iPhone is being sold as new, it'll come with the normal Apple 1 year warranty, so it doesn't matter if that model currently is still being manufactured or not. The important thing though is manufacture date because the battery will age just sitting in a box not being used
 
JBGoode said:
Someone here has a 6s Plus supposedly manufactured in June.

iphone-6s-plus-is-awesome-for-199-99.2194333
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Corresponds to the macrumors article that they are manufactured in India. So we don’t really know which phones they manufacture?! Goes back to my point as to what discontinued really means if you can buy it new in nearly all major stores.

My guess is that they say discontinue to push people toward their main iPhone lineup, but keep making other phones on the lowdown to cater to a niche of consumers who want them and aren’t so involved with apple.

As to what phones? Seeing as Apple recently signed a big deal with Amazon, and Amazon has a nice new page of iPhones that apple and Amazon describe as an ‘official store’ that includes the 6s and the X, I’d guess that the phones on that page is the real list of what phones apple still makes and sells.

www.amazon.com/apple
 
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When the media says "discontinued," they mean for major markets and wide availability. This doesn't include emerging markets or models for low-cost prepaid carriers.

The iPhones manufactured in India are intended for the domestic market. But low demand in India meant plant utilization was low. As a result, some phones were shipped to Europe.
 
So to answer your question, "Discontinued" when Apple says it, doesn't mean it's discontinued. Just like the word "Pro" used with MacBook & iMac means nothing. Welcome to Applespeak.
 
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iPhone 6S was still manufactured in India and I think Brazil up until recently, and available at reduced prices.

I think there is still a good amount of leftover 6S and X stock.
 
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AppleHaterLover said:
iPhone 6S was still manufactured in India and I think Brazil up until recently, and available at reduced prices.

I think there is still a good amount of leftover 6S and X stock.
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Just like how the 10.5” Pro is “discontinued” but carriers sell them brand new. Verizon has them on their website. Same applies to the iPhone X.
 
I bought a retail sealed iPhone 6S Plus in Walmart and it was manufactured last month. Iphones are still produced up to 5 years after they release.

So due to insurance claims and the healthy pre-paid phone market Apple still makes them well after being discontinued.

It isn’t left over stock. Sure there will be some left over older phones. But the 6S is still in production.
 
Freakonomics101 said:
Just like how the 10.5” Pro is “discontinued” but carriers sell them brand new. Verizon has them on their website. Same applies to the iPhone X.
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Well, they sell the LTE Model new, but the non-LTE models are sold direct through third party/online. The difference being, it’s much more difficult to find a 10.5 in retail stores versus actually finding more lucrative stock online.
 
Jon80 said:
Apologies if this is a well trodden topic, but I noticed all the media reports to apple 'discontinuing' phones like the iPhone X and iPhone 6s, yet these phones are widely available new just never from Apple themselves.

So,
1) Which iPhones do Apple still manufacture?
2) How can one know this / keep track of it?
3) What does 'discontinued' actually mean then?!
Click to expand...

Correct. If Apple doesn't sell them anymore directly (or include them in the line-up), they are considered discontinued.

Check www.apple.com/iphone

Currently you can get the 7 (Plus), 8 (Plus), Xr, Xs and Xs Max. SE and 6s you can't get anymore from Apple directly, same with the X. Except in the Refurbished & Clearance Sale. Obviously you can still buy those older iPhones from third-party sellers aswell as from cellular providers. They have left-over stock so they should be brand new and sealed. Refurbished phones are refurbished. With a new shell, battery etc... but still the original phone can be years old when you get them off clearance which is US only.

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/iphone

Also you have to look at the colors & storage options. For example, for the 7 and 7 Plus the Jet Black and Product Red color is discontinued and the 256 GB option aswell. Product Red color is also no longer produced for the 8 and 8 Plus.
 
tps3443 said:
So due to insurance claims and the healthy pre-paid phone market Apple still makes them well after being discontinued.
Click to expand...

And consumer law. Apple aren't allowed to supply refurbished phones as replacements in some markets, they're required to be brand new from the factory.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I actually personally have two cases of this, I own an iPhone Xs Max that was manufactured in October 2020, and an iPhone 6s plus that was manufactured and March 2019
 
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