When do Macs become obsolete?
But it’s not just software updates that determine the lifespan of a Mac. It’s also a question of whether it will be possible to fix your Mac should something go wrong with the hardware. Apple has two standards that indicate hardware support is waining: Obsolete or Vintage. The first stage is Vintage: you might be lucky enough to get parts for this Mac, the second is Obsolete: you are out on your own when it comes to any attempt to mend the Mac if it goes wrong.
If you look at Apple’s list of Obsolete Macs – those being the Macs that Apple will no longer provide spare parts for – you will see that the company stops providing parts for Macs that it hasn’t sold for more than seven years. In fact, the company may not even provide parts for Macs that haven’t been sold for more than five years (considered Vintage by the company).
This could mean that you won’t be able to get a faulty Mac fixed because the parts aren’t available.
Obsolete Macs
Obsolete Macs are generally Macs that Apple stopped selling more than seven years ago. Once a Mac is in Apple’s obsolete list you have little chance of getting it repaired if something does go wrong. You might be able to find spare parts yourself, but Apple won’t provide them.
You’ll find more details about the exact models on Apple’s US page and the equivalent UK page, but the lists below will give you a general idea.
Apple considers the following Macs and older Obsolete, now including the 2017 MacBook Pro models:
- 11-inch MacBook Air (early 2015 and older)
- 12-inch MacBook (2016 and older)
- 13-inch MacBook Air (early 2015 and older)
- 13-inch MacBook Pro (2017 and older)
- 15-inch MacBook Pro (2017 and older)
- 27-inch iMac (2015 and older)
- 21.5-inch iMac (2015 and older)
- Mac mini (2012 and older)
- Mac mini Server (2012 and older)
- Mac Pro (2010 and older)
- Anything predating the Intel switch, obviously.
Petter Ahrnstedt
Vintage Macs
Apple also has a list of Vintage Macs. These are Macs that Apple stopped selling between five and seven years ago. (If you live in France where a law means you can get support for spare parts for up to seven years after Apple stops selling a Mac).
Apple Authorized Service Providers will repair vintage products, as long as parts are available.
Apple lists the following products as being vintage, now including the 2020 MacBook Air, 2019 MacBook Air, 2019 MacBook Pro and 2019 iMac, and the 2018 Mac mini:
- 12-inch MacBook (2017)
- 13-inch MacBook Air (2018, 2019 and 2020)
- 13-inch MacBook Pro (2017, 2018 & 2019)
- 15-inch MacBook Pro (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- 21.5-inch iMac (2013, 2017)
- 27-inch iMac (2015, 2017 & 2019)
- Mac Pro (2012 & 2014)
- Mac mini (2014 & 2018)
Based on the above, we’d suggest that if your Mac is more than eight years old, it’s time to look for a new one. And, if you see a 2018 or earlier Mac on sale, it’s not wise to buy it. In fact you will note that there are even 2019 Macs on the vintage list. Read: Why you shouldn’t buy a second hand Mac.
