Apple Says iPhone 6 Plus Now 'Obsolete' and iPad Mini 4 Now 'Vintage'
Apple today added a handful of devices to its public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, including some older iPhone and iPad models.
Apple now considers the iPhone 6 Plus to be "obsolete" worldwide, meaning that Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers no longer offer repairs or other hardware service for the device. Apple says it considers a product "obsolete" once seven years have passed since the company last distributed it for sale.
Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September 2014, with key features including larger screens than previous models and Apple Pay support. Apple discontinued the iPhone 6 Plus in September 2016, but the iPhone 6 remained available through resellers in select countries for a few more years, so it is not yet considered "obsolete."
On the software side, iOS 13 dropped support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2019.
As for the iPad, Apple now considers the fourth-generation iPad mini to be "vintage," meaning that more than five years have passed since the company stopped distributing the device for sale. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers continue to offer repairs for vintage products for up to two more years, subject to parts availability.
Apple also added the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to its "vintage" products list, but in the (PRODUCT)RED color only. The devices remained available in other colors for longer, so those colors are not "vintage" yet.
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Top Rated Comments
Does the color of the phone make the parts different? This seems an odd reason for an iPhone 8 to become vintage.