If you’re hanging on to an iPhone 6 or an iPad mini 4, it may be time to look into a more recent model.
Apple on Monday added the devices to its public-facing vintage and obsolete models list. The now considers the iPhone 6 Plus to be “obsolete” worldwide, meaning that Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers no longer offer repairs or other hardware service for the device. Apple says it considers a product “obsolete” once seven years have passed since the company last distributed it for sale.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released in September 2014, with key features that included larger screens that previous models as well as Apple Pay support. Apple discontinued the iPhone 6 Plus in September 2016, but the iPhone 6 remained available through resellers in select countries for a few more years, so it is not yet considered “obsolete.”
Over on the software side, iOS 13 dropped support for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2019.
Where the iPad mini 4 is concerned, the device is not “vintage,” meaning that more than five years have passed since the company stopped distributing the device for sale. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers continue to offer repairs for vintage products for up to two more years, subject to parts availability. Apple also recently added the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to its “vintage” products list, although this category applies only to the (PRODUCT)RED variant. The other iPhone 8 variants remained available in other colors for longer, so those colors are not “vintage” yet.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.