The list of vintage iPhone models now includes the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone XS Max. The smaller iPhone XS and iPhone 6s still count among the active models.
Apple has updated its list of vintage and obsolete devices, relegating some of the older iPhone and Apple Watch models to officially “old” status. Apple vintage and obsolete product has got a few more update additions recently. This Apple products now includes one of the popular iPhone and Apple Watch models that launched many years back. These lists allow the company to publicly inform the customers about which product has reached its end of life in its inventory, and finding parts for them will become challenging from here on.
The list of vintage iPhone models now includes the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone XS Max. The smaller iPhone XS and iPhone 6s still count among the active models. But as reported, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with 32GB configurations were previously moved to the obsolete list. As for the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 2 models made from aluminum and stainless steel were moved to the obsolete list.
Apple vintage products
Vintage and obsolete status refers to whether Apple and Apple-certified repair services can fix devices with expired warranties and supply parts for those models. A vintage model is when it “stopped distributing them for sale more than five and less than seven years ago,” as per Apple.
Apple Vintage and Obsolete List
The latest Apple products are making their way to the vintage and obsolete lists and these include some of the popular iPhone and Apple Watch models.
Apple iPhones
Here are the details of the vintage products
- iPhone Xs Max
- iPhone 6s Plus
The mentioning of the iPhone 6s Plus with the Xs Max is peculiar, mostly because the former is 3 years older than when the Xs Max was launched in 2018. Typically, Apple is very fixed about its decision to make a product obsolete but the 6s Plus moving to the vintage list now means the device has outlived its purpose and is finally ready to end its services in the market.
Obsolete list
- Apple Watch Series 2 Aluminum (both 38mm and 42mm sizes)
- Apple Watch Series 2 Stainless Steel (both 38mm and 42mm sizes)
What the Apple vintage and obsolete means?
Apple’s vintage is defined as a product which has stopped selling through the company for more than 5 years but less than 7 years. Similarly, the obsolete list includes products from Apple that have stopped selling in the market for more than 7 years. These are not the first Apple products to be added to this list and surely won’t be the last. But the fact that a 2018 iPhone model is now part of the list shows you how quickly the paradigm of the tech space evolves and new products show their dated value.
Apple vintage repair
Those models can be repaired as long as supplies for relevant parts are available. Obsolete models are devices that haven’t been distributed for over seven years. Hardware for obsolete products are discontinued and service providers can no longer order parts for them.
Active Apple devices that are not on the vintage or obsolete lists are still supported by OS updates. However, some new capabilities, like Apple Intelligence, aren’t compatible with the older still-active models. The iPhones that support Apple Intelligence are the full iPhone 16 generation and iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.