If you’re someone who likes to hold onto their gadgets as long as possible, you may be forced to upgrade sooner than you think.
While Apple supports its products for several years after their release, every device has a definitive lifespan.
Once a product has been out of production for too long, Apple redefines it as first vintage and then as obsolete.
If Apple drops a product to obsolete, the company will no longer offer support or repairs for your device.
‘Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, and service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products,’ the tech giant explained.
Despite their popularity, the iPhone X and iPhone SE could soon be consigned to the scrap heap.
Meanwhile, if you bought a Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch in 2017, you could soon lose the chance to get it repaired.
So if you have any of these devices, make sure to get them serviced while you still have the chance.
Apple products only have so many years before they are rendered obsolete and will no longer receive support
What are vintage and obsolete Apple products?
Becoming obsolete doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with how long a piece of Apple tech can work for.
Rather, this is a term used by Apple to determine whether it will still offer support and repairs.
The process has three stages, starting with Apple deciding to discontinue the product.
This simply means that Apple will no longer manufacture the piece of tech in question and once the last stock is sold it will not be replaced.
A product is generally discontinued when sales dip below a certain level or when the product no longer fits within the wider Apple lineup.
For example, a number of Apple’s Lightning cable adaptors were recently discontinued since they were no longer compatible with the latest iPhone models.
Once a product has been discontinued for five years, Apple regards this as vintage and the company no longer guarantees that you will be able to get the product serviced.
After being discontinued for five years, Apple products become vintage. This was recently the case for the iPhone XS Max (2018, pictured here left) and iPhone 6s Plus (2015)
The iPhone SE was released in 2016 and discontinued in 2018, meaning it has already been discontinued for six years. Next year Apple will redefine the device as obsolete
You might still be able to get a vintage product repaired if the parts are available but this isn’t always possible.
Two years after that, seven years after it was discontinued, the device becomes officially obsolete.
When this happens, Apple pulls any support for the product meaning customers can no longer get serviced or repaired.
But the bigger issue is that obsolete gadgets often stop getting the latest software updates.
This not only means that users miss out on the latest features but also on vital security updates.
Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight, told MailOnline: ‘All technology reaches a point where it is no longer viable to keep supporting it.
‘Apple will look at a number of factors including the capability of the device and whether it can support new software advancements.
‘This will depend on how much memory the devices have and how powerful the processor is.’
Which iPhone models will become obsolete next?
Since Apple’s products become obsolete on a regular schedule, it’s possible to know what will be next on the chopping block.
The next to go will be the currently-vintage products which were discontinued in 2017 and 2018.
This schedule puts the iPhone X and the iPhone SE as the next products in line.
While they were released a year apart, both were discontinued in 2018 which means they will become obsolete next year.
The only outlier to the trend is the iPhone 5 which was launched in 2012 and discontinued the next year.
Despite not having had a software update in five years, Apple still considers the device vintage, meaning owners should still be able to get the decade-old device serviced.
However, having been vintage for almost six years, it is likely that Apple will soon get around to redefining this archaic device as obsolete.
The iPhone 5 is still considered vintage rather than obsolete despite having been discontinued in 2013. This unusual quirk means the decade-old device is likely to be obsolete fairly soon
Which iPhones will lose support next?
When it comes to the iPhone, the harder thing to predict is when a device will lose software support.
Since the 2010s, Apple has been gradually extending the length of time its devices can use the latest version of iOS.
Mr Wood says: ‘We expect the next iPhones to stop getting software updates will be the iPhone 8, and [iPhone 8] Plus model, and the iPhone X.’
These devices are currently only compatible with iOS 16 which got its most recent security update in August this year.
However, as these devices teeter on the edge of becoming obsolete it is likely that Apple will soon stop providing even the most basic security support.
Likewise, Mr Woods predicts that the iPhone XS and XR will stop receiving the latest software support in 2025.
Although these devices were released in 2018 they were produced for so long before being discontinued that they aren’t yet considered vintage and have had software support for seven years.
The iPhone XR has already received software support for seven years but experts say this will probably end sometime next year with the release of iOS 19
But with iOS 19 expected to release sometime next year, it’s unlikely that Apple will provide eight years of support for these ageing devices.
However, these models will still run iOS 18 and so should keep receiving security updates for some time.
While it might be frustrating to lose support for a valued device, it is worth noting that Apple actually offers to support devices for an unusually long period.
Mr Wood says: ‘iPhone owners can expect at least five years of operating system updates and six years of security updates which is already impressive. However, Apple has regularly gone beyond that.
‘It has also forced other consumer electronics manufacturers such as Samsung and Google to step up and increase the length of support on their devices which is a good thing for consumers and the environment.’
In January this year, Samsung announced that it would extend its security update support period to seven years, matching what has been offered for the most recent iPhone models.
Likewise, the Google Pixel 8 which was released last year was the first Google phone to guarantee operating system and security updates for seven years.
Which other products will become obsolete?
Both the second-generation Apple Watch Series 1 (second generation) and the iPad Air 2 were discontinued in 2017 meaning they should become obsolete within the next few months
The 2015 model MacBook Air was discontinued after two years in 2017, making it the next Mac product in line for obsolescence
There are several iPad models which are scheduled to become obsolete in the coming months.
The iPad Air 2, which was discontinued in March 2017 is currently listed as vintage but should become obsolete very soon.
The same goes for the iPad Mini 2 which was discontinued at the same time and is now overdue for obsolescence.
Next year, the iPad 5th generation and iPad Pro second generation will also move from vintage to obsolete, having been discontinued in 2018.
Additionally, the next Mac product to become obsolete will be the 2015 model 11-inch MacBook Air which was discontinued in 2017.
The iMac, originally released in 2013, is also expected to move from vintage to obsolete next year.
Finally, the second-generation Apple Watch Series 1 is expected to become obsolete next year having been discontinued in 2017.
