Apple adds two iPhone models to its ‘obsolete products’ list

Apple has moved the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 5 to its list of obsolete devices worldwide. Here’s what that means.

All iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 models now obsolete

While warranty laws and regulations vary by region, Apple generally considers a product “vintage” 5 years after it stops selling it.

In practice, once a device is added to Apple’s vintage list, the company will only service it while parts remain available.

Apple doesn’t automatically move products to the list as soon as the five-year mark passes. But once it does, it’s effectively signaling that repair options may become increasingly limited as parts availability declines.

Another effect of the “vintage” designation is that a new clock starts ticking: the “obsolete” clock.

Apple generally classifies products as obsolete after more than 7 years have passed since they were last sold. At that point, the company stops offering support for it altogether.

That’s what happened today to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, as spotted by MacRumors.

When it comes to the iPhone 5, it was pretty straightforward: the device was vintage, and now it’s obsolete.

As for the iPhone 4, Apple had already classified the iPhone 4 GSM (8GB), Black as obsolete, while the iPhone 4 (8GB) was still listed as vintage. Today, the company removed the iPhone 4 (8GB) from the vintage list and updated the obsolete list to simply read iPhone 4 GSM (8GB).

For a closer look at Apple’s full list of vintage and obsolete products, as well as cases where service may be extended for up to 10 years, follow this link.