Within the past few weeks, Apple has brought a lot of new products and software to the market.
Last Friday (September 20), the tech firm released the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, alongside new versions of the Apple Watch and AirPods and new colors of Airpods Max.
And, days earlier, they launched their iOS 18 systems upgrade, which includes updates to existing apps, alongside a number of new features to enjoy like home screen and control center customization, a new Passwords app and smart handwriting for Notes.
But, as well as adding products to the official Apple lineup, they've also declared a bunch of models of MacBook and iMac to be obsolete, with 12 models of the computers officially added to the vintage and obsolete products list.
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Among these, three Mac models have been newly classified as vintage - the MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, with two Thunderbolt 3 ports), and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, with four Thunderbolt 3 ports).
A further nine have been moved to the obsolete category. You can see if your computer has been added to the list below:
- MacBook Air 13-inch (Early 2015)
- MacBook Pro 13-inch (2016, with 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro 13-inch (2016, with 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro 15-inch (2016)
- MacBook Pro Retina 13-inch (Early 2015)
- MacBook Retina 12-inch (Early 2016)
- iMac 21.5-inch (Late 2015)
- iMac Retina 4K 21.5-inch (Late 2015)
- iMac Retina 5K 27-inch (Late 2015)
But what exactly does this mean for owners of these computers?
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An Apple product becomes 'vintage' when it is more than five years old and 'obsolete' means the product in question stopped being sold in stores more than seven years ago.
Just because your laptop or computer has entered one of these categories, it doesn't mean it needs to be immediately binned. But owners do need to be aware of the difficulties they may face if a problem arises with its hardware.
In the case of vintage products, repairs and parts are available, but the latter may be extremely limited as time goes on.
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When it comes to a device that is classified as obsolete, however, if something goes wrong with a component, you’ve pretty much had it.
Apple - and its official servicing partners - typically does not offer repairs or parts for these products, although MacBook battery replacements might still be available for up to 10 years.
So, it might be time to start saving for an upgrade...