Apple Says Your Device May Now Be Vintage or Obsolete — Here’s Why and What That Means

That six-year-old iPhone or eight-year-old iPad you own might still be working, but if you need parts or service, you’re likely in trouble. That’s because Apple considers products vintage or obsolete after a certain number of years, which limits your options for repair.

On a support page updated Monday, as spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple is explaining how support and service work when a product is no longer under warranty, and revealing which unlucky devices are now considered vintage or obsolete. In short, devices become vintage when Apple stopped selling them more than five years ago but less than seven years ago. They become obsolete when Apple stopped selling them more than seven years ago.

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As a few examples, the iPhone X, fifth-generation iPad, Apple Watch Series 2, first-generation AirPods, and early 2015 MacBook Air are now considered vintage by Apple. The iPhone 6 Plus, fourth-generation iPad, first-generation Apple Watch, the first three generations of Apple TV, and 2013 MacBook Air are marked as obsolete by Apple.

Apple and independent repair providers will provide parts and service for Apple and Beats products for up to five years after the end of sale. OK, no problem.

However, if the item is considered vintage, you can still request parts and service, depending on parts availability. So if your local Apple Store or independent store doesn’t have the parts in stock, you may have to wait until they are found, or you may be out of luck altogether. In that case, you may want to turn to eBay or another third-party vendor to try and dig up the parts yourself.

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The news is worse for a product deemed obsolete. In such cases, Apple stops all service for such devices, and service providers can’t even order parts for them. The only exception is the MacBook, which can get a battery-only repair for up to 10 years after Apple cut sales, but only if parts are available.

The cynical take on all this is that Apple is intentionally making products vintage or outdated to force people to buy the latest models. That’s certainly true. However, as the supply of parts for older devices dwindles, repair options become more limited, and sooner or later you’ll need to replace your trusty but broken iPhone or iPad if surgery is no longer an option.