Apple has just added the
iPhone 6 Plus to its list of "obsolete" and "vintage" products, which means the company has ceased support and parts supply for the phone. The iPad Mini 4 has also been designated as vintage, which means it's a step closer to the obsolescence grave.
As much as Apple products are seemingly made to last forever with its trademark high build and materials quality, there comes a time when even your treasured Apple device gets too old for back-end support. The iPhone 6 Plus (though oddly not the iPhone 6), being almost 10 years old, is the latest to hit that milestone.
Apple considers products obsolete when they've not been distributed for sale for more than 7 years. Moreover, hardware services and authorized service providers will cease support and repair, so if you plan on keeping your old phone running, it's all DIY from here. Here's the full list of obsolete iPhones worldwide:
- iPhone
- iPhone 3G (China mainland) 8GB
- iPhone 3G 8GB, 16GB
- iPhone 3GS (China mainland) 16GB, 32GB
- iPhone 3GS (8GB)
- iPhone 3GS 16GB, 32GB
- iPhone 4 CDMA
- iPhone 4 CDMA (8GB)
- iPhone 4 16GB, 32GB
- iPhone 4 GSM (8GB), Black
- iPhone 4S
iPhone 4S (8GB)
- iPhone 5C
- iPhone 6 Plus
While not as drastic as the "obsolete" label,
Apple has added the iPad Mini 4 to its "vintage" list, which is just an indicator that the iPad is not long for the retired-from-all-support list. Basically, vintage items are products that Apple has stopped selling for more than five years, but less than seven.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were popular devices when they were released in September 2014, for better or for worse. Users loved them for their larger (at the time) 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, NFC compatibility, and svelte design (the iPhone 6 still is the thinnest phone it's made). However, both phones were mired with issues.
The most prominent was what became known as "
Bendgate," where the chassis of the phones where found to bend too easily even when carried in a pocket. Touchscreen failure was also a huge problem, partly related to the weak chassis. It was found that the flexing caused the connectors for the touchscreen layer to degrade or fail altogether.
Bendgate aside, it was a long run for the iPhone 6 Plus.