APPLE has declared one of its older iPhones as “obsolete”, meaning if it’s broken – it will stay broken.
Once an products hit their roughly their tenth birthday, Apple can no longer order repair parts for them.
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In April, the iPhone 6 Plus, released in 2014, was added to the list of obsolete products.
Now, the iPhone 5s will join it.
Launched in 2013, the iPhone 5s offered consumers a camera boost in comparison to the standard iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5s joining the obsolete list means it now features 15 phones.
All 15 iPhone on the list are as follows:
- 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
“Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago,” Apple’s Support page explains.
“Products are considered obsolete when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 7 years ago.”
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Apple added it “discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products.”
This usually occurs long after the device stops receiving software and security updates.
Most iPhones get between six and eight years of software support.
It’s not just iPhones that can become obsolete.
iPads, too, will eventually meet the same fate and join Apple’s technology graveyard.
The iPad Mini 4 will now be considered vintage.
Vintage is the stage before obsolete so users will still be able to get software and hardware updates for the iPad Mini 4.
Why does Apple make products obsolete?
By Millie Turner, Technology & Science Reporter
There are several reasons Apple makes products obsolete – and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The main reason for Apple’s obsolete list of products is that technology has changed and improved over time.
It’s also not financially viable for Apple to fix the hardware on all old products as well as new ones.
While it’s frustrating to here that your iPhone is really on its last legs, it’s for the best.
iPhones that become “obsolete”, by Apple’s definition, have likely already lost their software and security support.
This means the device is much more vulnerable to cyber attacks than newer iPhones that still receive iOS updates.
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