{"id":3949,"date":"2025-07-16T22:04:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T22:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/3949\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T22:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T22:04:17","slug":"six-popular-apple-devices-are-now-classed-as-vintage-and-may-leave-users-unable-to-get-repairs-if-they-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/3949\/","title":{"rendered":"Six popular Apple devices are now classed as VINTAGE – and may leave users unable to get repairs if they break"},"content":{"rendered":"

They were some of the hottest gadgets in Apple’s recent history.<\/p>\n

But the tech giant has added another six products to its official\u00a0‘vintage’ list<\/a> \u2013 most of them not even a decade after their release.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, ‘vintage’ doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to sell them for large amounts online.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, if you still own a vintage Apple product, it means you may not be able to get it repaired by Apple if and when it breaks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, three Apple products have gone from the vintage list to the dreaded ‘obsolete’ list \u2013 signifying their days are nearly numbered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All Apple products progress through three categories \u2013 current, vintage, and obsolete.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even the new iPhone 16<\/a>\u00a0will become obsolete one day, consigning it to the great technology scrap heap.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0Apple and other tech companies have received criticism for giving their devices such a short lifespan as it fuels the problem of electronic waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Apple <\/p>\n

Apple has added another six products to its ‘vintage’ list and three products to its ‘obsolete’ list (file photo)<\/p>\n

As first noticed by MacRumors<\/a>, the six products Apple has just added to its vintage list include the 2013 \u200cMac Pro\u200c, nicknamed ‘trash can’ due to its appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This cylindrical\u00a0desktop computer, also compared with a rice cooker and R2-D2 from Star Wars, originally cost $2,999 when released over a decade ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Something of a cult favourite, the 2013 \u200cMac Pro\u200c was criticised for an ‘unsustainable’ design that didn’t meet the needs of professional users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2013 \u200cMac Pro\u200c was discontinued in 2019 when its successor \u2013 the\u00a0$6,000 ‘cheese grater’<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 was released, but it is finally officially ‘vintage’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A ‘vintage’ product means Apple stopped selling it more than five years ago and as a result it may or may not be able to receive Apple services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers are still able to offer repairs for ‘vintage’ devices, but only if the required parts are available.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other five products now ‘vintage’ are not as old as the 2013 \u200cMac Pro\u200c, making their addition to the list rather more surprising.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They are the 13-inch MacBook Air (2019), iMac (2019), 11-inch iPad Pro (2018), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2018) and\u00a0iPhone 8 with 128GB of storage (2017).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The 2013 \u200cMac Pro\u200c, nicknamed ‘trash can’ due to its appearance, is among the Apple devices added to Apple’s ‘vintage’ list<\/p>\n

\"At <\/p>\n

At the time of its release in 2016, MailOnline called iPhone 8 ‘the best handset Apple has ever made’ with its all-glass back and wireless charging\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple products made vintage and obsolete\u00a0 <\/p>\n

VINTAGE<\/p>\n

2013 \u200cMac Pro\u200c2019 13-inch MacBook Air2019 iMac\u00a02018 11-inch iPad Pro\u00a02018 12.9-inch \u200ciPad Pro\u200c\u00a0<\/p>\n

OBSOLETE\u00a0<\/p>\n

AirPort Express2TB and 3TB AirPort Time Capsules02.11ac AirPort Extreme <!- – ad: https:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v8\/us\/sciencetech\/none\/article\/other\/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – -><\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

At the time of its release in 2017,\u00a0MailOnline called the $699\/\u00a3699 iPhone 8 ‘the best handset Apple has ever made’<\/a>\u00a0with its all-glass back and wireless charging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the new update means all three iPhone 8 storage options (64GB, 128GB and 256GB) are now vintage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, released in 2018, was described <\/a>by MailOnline as ‘the best tablet out there’ with a ‘stunning screen’ and ‘blazingly fast’ processing speeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also, three Apple routers \u2013\u00a0AirPort Express, 2TB and 3TB AirPort Time Capsules, and 802.11ac AirPort Extreme \u2013 have become ‘obsolete’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple considers a product ‘obsolete’ when it stopped distributing it for sale more than seven years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Apple explains, an obsolete device has lost support and is no longer eligible for repair at an Apple Store or an authorised third-party service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Essentially it means if the product stops working Apple is not obliged to fix it \u2013 rendering it barely more than a relic from the past.<\/p>\n

Apple explains on its website: ‘Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, and service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pictured, <\/p>\n

Pictured, the 11-inch iPad Pro, released in November 2018 – now one of Apple’s vintage products, not even seven years later\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Apple <\/p>\n

Apple and other tech companies have received criticism for giving their devices such a short lifespan as it fuels the problem of electronic waste (file photo)\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Mac laptops may be eligible for an extended battery-only repair period for up to 10 years from when the product was last distributed for sale, subject to parts availability.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Apple releases several devices\u00a0to feverish fanfare\u00a0every year, even more are quietly consigned to the technology scrap heap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But environmental campaigners believe a lifetime of less than a decade isn’t reasonable for a tech device retailing for several hundreds of pounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tech companies including Apple have faced fierce criticism<\/a>\u00a0for fuelling an ‘e-waste crisis’, where piles of electronic waste are building up in landfill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 2020 report from MPs said companies like Apple and Amazon have been ‘dodging their environmental responsibilities’ for the products they sell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Too many devices have a limited, and sometimes decreasing, lifespan and end up in bins, eventually going to landfill or incineration,’ said former Environment Audit Committee chair Philip Dunne.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to recycle your old smartphone – and save it from the rubbish heap <\/p>\n

For some dated phones, you might struggle to find a retailer that’ll give you much money, or any at all, according to Which?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this instance, your best option is to recycle your phone directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

National recycling campaign Recycle Now<\/a>\u00a0can check if you can recycle your mobile phone at home or at a nearby recycling point so its materials can be used again elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you enter your postcode, it will give you a list of\u00a0local recycling facilities where you can take your devices – preventing them from ending up in landfill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a device is discarded and e-waste is warmed up, toxic chemicals are released into the air, damaging the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

E-waste in landfills can also seep toxic materials into groundwater, affecting animals and plants.<\/p>\n

According to Recycle Now, recycling saves 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year – the same environmental impact as taking 12 million cars off the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They were some of the hottest gadgets in Apple’s recent history. But the tech giant has added another…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[97,59,641,124,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-3949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-iphone","11":"tag-sciencetech","12":"tag-technology","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}