Apple Adds the iPhone 6 Plus to Its “Vintage” List, Here’s What That Means

Apple

The iPhone 6 Plus, Apple’s most bendable phone, is now considered a “vintage” product. It’s just a few years from joining Apple’s list of “obsolete” products, at which point the company will stop servicing the phone at authorized repair centers.

While most companies wipe their hands of any discontinued products, Apple likes to categorize its old stuff as “vintage” or “obsolete.” Here’s the gist; after five to seven years of pulling a product from store shelves, that product joins the “vintage” list. The iPhone 6 Plus launched in 2014 but was discontinued in 2016, so it fits the bill. (Notably, the basic iPhone 6 is not “vintage” yet. That’s because Apple brought it back as a budget option in 2017.)

“Vintage” products no longer receive software support, though of course, the iPhone 6 Plus hasn’t had an update since 2019. And while Apple will try to offer hardware repairs for “vintage” devices, the company can’t always guarantee that it has the parts to perform these repairs.

To clarify, the iPhone 6 Plus still works. Apple doesn’t have a kill switch for your old-as-hell phone.

After seven or more years of discontinuing a product, that product becomes “obsolete” to Apple. The company will not offer any support or repairs for “obsolete” products. (To Apple’s credit, there aren’t many companies that support discontinued products for up to seven years.)

Along with the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has marked the fourth-gen iPad and first-gen Apple Watch as “vintage.” You can view the company’s full list of “vintage” and “obsolete” products at its website.

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