Apple labels the once popular iPhone ‘obsolete’ and considers iPad ‘vintage’… DO YOU own the devices?
- The iPhone 6 Plus was given an ‘obsolete’ label and the iPad Mini 4 is now vintage
- Devices become ‘obsolete’ seven years after Apple stops making them
- Devices are labeled as vintage five years after they have been discontinued
- READ MORE: Popular iPhone model now considered VINTAGE by Apple
The term “vintage” may bring to mind brick cell phones and record players, but in the world of Apple it means devices that have been out of stock for five years.
The tech giant has a list of outdated iPhones and iPads that are no longer sold or have parts available for maintenance.
The iPhone 6 Plus, released in 2014, officially became obsolete this week the company invests in the production of more advanced products, and the was once popular in 2015 iPad Mini 4 is considered ‘vintage’.
A device is considered ‘obsolete’ once it reaches the seven-year mark since Apple stopped selling it, but because ‘vintage’ devices are out of stock for between five and seven years, users can still get parts replacements for up to two years to get.
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus was labeled ‘obsolete’ because it was discontinued seven years ago
Users cannot get parts to repair their iPhone 6 Plus if it breaks
Apple products are divided into two segments – vintage or outdated – and explained accordingly place that it will “discontinue all hardware services for legacy products, and service providers will not be able to order parts for legacy products.”
For those still clinging to the iPhone 6 Plus relic of the past, if this one breaks you’ll have a hard time fixing it because in addition to making the device obsolete, Apple has also stopped producing parts for the smartphone.
The iPhone 6 Plus was first released a decade ago for $300, which is a far cry from the $900 price tag of the company’s latest iPhone 15 Plus.
The company discontinued the iPhone 6 Plus in 2016, even though the iPhone 6 option remained available for another two years.
The iPad Mini 4 is now considered ‘vintage’ because it was discontinued by Apple five years ago
Vintage products can still receive parts if they need repairs, and will become obsolete two years later
Meanwhile, the iPad Mini 4 still has two years before it joins Apple’s growing list of aging devices.
The iPad Mini 4 cost $400 to $730 depending on the amount of gigabytes of storage it had, while the current iPad mini starts at $500.
Apple’s business model is based on people buying new products instead of falling back on devices they bought years ago. Therefore, this makes them outdated, according to a study. Fordham Law Review.
“Apple’s business depends on selling its products to a consumer and thus “value is converted into money through a one-time payment,” the review said.
It continued: “But like all companies, Apple has an interest in stable revenue. This is where the tactic of planned obsolescence comes into play.’
The news that the iPhone 6 Plus will become obsolete while the iPad Mini 4 will be marked as vintage comes as Apple prepares to introduce the iOS 18 update in the fall.
New updates generally cause Apple users to switch from older phones that cannot support the software updates, inadvertently leaving their data open to cybercriminals.
iOS 18 will not be compatible with iPhones released before 2018, including the 8 Plus model and the SE series which was labeled as ‘vintage’ in December last year.
Apple is expected to add AI features to Siri so it will provide more accurate answers, while the Message app “answers questions and auto-completes sentences,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
“I’m told the new operating system is being viewed within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates – if not the biggest – in the company’s history,” Gurman wrote in his To turn on newsletter.
“With that knowledge, Apple’s developer conference in June should be quite exciting.”