10 years later, the iPhone 5S is now obsolete, says Apple, but other iPhones are vintage. What a difference ?
Apple is expanding its list of devices declared obsolete. The latest is the iPhone 5S. Released in 2013, it is no longer supported by its manufacturer.
What is an obsolete device for Apple?
In Apple’s sense, obsolescence does not only mean that the device is no longer supported software, but also hardware. In general, all iPhones that were put on the market more than seven years ago are entitled to this badge.
From then on, they of course no longer have security updates and are therefore vulnerable, but also they can no longer be repaired. Suppliers can no longer order their parts from Apple. There remains the parallel market with components not validated by Apple.
The iPhone 5S was an exception. In January 2023, it still received a security update despite its outdated operating system since it runs at most under iOS 12. Let’s hope that Apple maintains the same pace for current iPhones. The latest news is that the iPhone 15 Pro Max only has five years of updates.
The list of obsolete iPhones now looks like this:
- iPhone
- iPhone 3G
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4 (16 GB, 32 GB)
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 5C
- iPhone 5S
- iPhone 6 Plus
What is a vintage device for Apple?
Apple keeps some of its devices on life support. We are talking about fairly old iPhones, but which can still meet the lower limit of the requirements of modern telephony for the most part.
These iPhones are therefore still entitled to hardware maintenance in Apple Stores and at Apple-approved suppliers, as long as spare parts are available.
Enough to increase the durability of these smartphones which can still be used as a second hand for a loved one, a child or why not just as a streaming medium.
Here is the current list of vintage iPhones: