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Vintage wine gets better with age. Vintage iPhone models don't

Updated: Oct 02, 2022, 8:46 AM

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Vintage wine gets better with age. Vintage iPhone models don't

If you are a wine connoisseur, you might know that certain wines that are considered "vintage" are of higher quality. Some of these wines get better with age. This, however, is not what Apple has in mind when it calls an older iPhone model vintage. Actually, when Apple declares your iPhone vintage, it means that you might want to think about replacing it with a newer model.

The iPhone 6 is now considered vintage by Apple

According to Apple, products are given the vintage label when the company has stopped selling them for more than 5 years but less than 7 years. While Apple first released the iPhone 6 in September 2014, it remained part of the iPhone lineup until September 2017. The iPhone 6 Plus, which was also was first released in September 2014, was discontinued earlier and declared vintage this past February.

The iPhone 6 is now considered vintage by Apple

Products that are declared vintage can still be serviced by Apple and authorized repair centers, but only if the parts are available. If a device has gone seven years since being discontinued, it is considered obsolete. The tech giant says, "Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, with the sole exception of Mac notebooks that are eligible for an additional battery-only repair period. Service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products."

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So in February 2024, the iPhone 6 Plus will be obsolete and the iPhone 6 will be given that label in September 2024. The two models were extremely popular as Apple sought to counter the trend at the time for Android phones to be given much larger screens. The iPhone 6 carried a 4.7-inch LCD display while the iPhone 6 Plus was equipped with a 5.5-inch display. The year before, the iPhone 5s featured a 4-inch screen.

The iPhone models considered vintage worldwide include:

iPhone 4 (8GB).
iPhone 5.
iPhone 5C.
iPhone 5S.
iPhone 6.
iPhone 6 Plus.
iPhone 6s (32GB).
iPhone 6s Plus (32GB).

The iPhone models labeled obsolete worldwide are:

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).

If you are wondering about the iPads, the following models are vintage worldwide:

iPad Pro 9.7-inch WiFi.
iPad Pro 9.7-inch WiFi + Cellular.
iPad Air Cellular.
iPad Air Cellular (TD LTE).
iPad Air WiFi.
iPad Air WiFi + Cellular.
iPad Air WiFi + Cellular (TD LTE).
iPad Air 2 WiFi.
iPad Air 2 WiFi + Cellular.
iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi.
iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi + 4G, GSM + CDMA.
iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi.
iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi + Cellular.
iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi + Cellular (TD-LTE).
iPad Pro 12.9-inch Wi-Fi.
iPad Pro 12.9-inch Wi-Fi, Cellular.
iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, CDMA.
iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, GSM.

And the following iPad models are now obsolete:

iPad mini Wi-Fi, 16GB, Gray.
iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular, 16GB, Gray.
iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular, MM, 16GB, Gray.
iPad mini Wi-Fi.
iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular.
iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular (MM).
iPad (4th generation) Wi-Fi.
iPad (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular.
iPad (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular (MM).
iPad [original].
iPad 3G.
iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi.
iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular.
iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular (VZ).
iPad Wi-Fi.
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G.
iPad Wi-Fi + 4G.
iPad Wi-Fi + 4G (Verizon).
iPad 2 Wi-Fi.
iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G.
iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (Verizon).

The iPod touch (fourth generation) is the only version of the device with the vintage label. On the other hand, the following iPod touch versions are obsolete:

iPod touch.
iPod touch (2nd generation, 2008).
iPod touch (2nd generation, 2009).
iPod touch (2nd generation) 8GB.
iPod touch (3rd generation) 32GB, 64GB.

The most recent iPod touch model released by Apple was the iPod touch seventh-generation which was launched in 2019. The model was discontinued in 2022 which means that it will be called vintage in 2027 and obsolete in 2029.

So while some vintage wines improve with age, vintage iPhone models only get worse. With this in mind, if you own the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6 and still use them as your daily driver, you have until February 2024 and September 2024 respectively to get those devices fixed up. Or, you can just go ahead and buy a new iPhone. After all, both iOS 6 series phones have lost iOS support anyway.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.