Apple has officially included five other models much loved by users in the list of obsolete devices.
This decision represents an important signal for all owners of these devices: safety and the possibility of repair are now compromised, making a timely update advisable.
Over the course of its 49 years of business, Apple has established a well-defined practice regarding the management of older products. Devices are classified in two key stages before they are finally retired from support: “vintage” e “obsolete”.
A device enters the vintage category when the company has stopped distributing it for sale for more than five years, but less than seven years. At this stage, it is still possible to carry out repairs through authorized centres, even if the availability of spare parts is increasingly limited.
Once seven years have passed since the end of distribution, the device is declared obsolete: at this point, Apple no longer provides technical support or replacement partsmaking repairs virtually impossible.
Models recently declared obsolete
The latest update to the obsolete products list includes devices that are well-known and used by millions of users around the world. In addition to first iPhone SE launched in March 2016the following have been inserted:
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch second generation (2017)
- Apple Watch Series 4 Hermes
- Apple Watch Series 4 Nike
- Beats Pill 2.0
Interestingly, the standard model of Apple Watch Series 4despite being contemporary with the Hermes and Nike editions, is still classified as vintage and not obsolete, meaning you can still get support for now.
As explained by industry experts, the decision to declare some devices obsolete is never random or capricious. Apple is known for the longevity of its hardware and for releasing software updates even years after a product’s release. However, technological evolution and economic sustainability impose limits.
For devices such as smartphones and smartwatches, maintaining a continuous production of spare parts for products that few users now own becomes uneconomical. Additionally, older devices no longer receive critical security updates to protect user data, increasing the risk of vulnerabilities.
In the specific case of first iPhone SE, released nine years agoperformance is no longer adequate for current needs and the operating system no longer receives important updates, endangering user safety.
The first iPhone SE and its impact on the market
L’First generation iPhone SEpresented on March 21, 2016 and released on the market a few weeks later, represented a real turning point for Apple: it was a device that combined a classic design – the same as the iPhone 5s with a 4-inch screen – with hardware updated to the level of the iPhone 6s, including a 12 megapixel camera and the Apple A9 processor.
This special edition was placed in a more accessible price range, thus responding to the demand of customers who preferred smaller dimensions compared to the larger screens introduced with the iPhone 6 line. The model was highly successful, selling millions of units all over the world.
However, with the evolution of technological standards and the growing demand for 5G connectivity, processing capabilities and advanced photography capabilities, the smartphone has gradually lost ground compared to newer models.
