Apple marks MacBook and iPad models ‘vintage,’ adds iPods to ‘obsolete’ list

Today Apple has updated its lists of vintage and obsolete products with new additions. The latest vintage products are select MacBook and iPad models, while key iPods and a beloved iPhone model are now considered ‘obsolete.’

iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Mac products are latest additions to vintage and obsolete lists

Apple maintains a public database of products the company considers ‘vintage’ and ‘obsolete.’ Both designations are tied to how long a product has been unavailable for sale.

• 5 years after a product was last distributed for sale, it becomes ‘vintage
• 7 years after its last distribution, it’s considered ‘obsolete’

The latest additions to these two lists, as spotted by MacRumors, involve a diverse group of beloved products. They follow last month’s array of newly-obsolete Macs.

The iPhone 6 is now obsolete, as are the final iPod nano and iPod shuffle models produced.

On the vintage side, the 12-inch MacBook’s 2017 version and the base iPad, sixth generation, join that list.

You can view the full list of vintage and obsolete products via this Support page on Apple’s website.

Definitions are important for these terms. If a product is vintage, that means you may still be able to get it repaired, but only subject to the availability of parts. With obsolete products, though, Apple has discontinued all hardware service with the sole exception of battery repairs for Macs.

What’s your experience been like with vintage product repairs? Does Apple generally have parts available for you, or not? Let us know in the comments.