Back in March 2016, Apple unveiled a new iPhone that was an instant classic. It had the body of an iPhone 5S (which was retired the prior September when the iPhone 6 arrived) but with the latest A9 chip, a better camera, and an affordable $399 price tag. It was the first truly budget iPhone and millions of people bought one and held onto it as long as they could.
If you still have one, congratulations, you now have an Apple device that’s officially vintage. Apple products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than five and less than seven years ago. Apple stopped selling the original iPhone SE in September 2018 when the iPhone XS arrived. When Apple moves a product to its vintage list, it means that while it can still be repaired, parts may be difficult to find.
Apple’s vintage list is the first step before declaring products obsolete. Products are declared obsolete after they haven’t been on sale for seven years, at which point Apple discontinues all hardware service. Read more here: How long does Apple support iPhones?
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.