When will your iPhone become obsolete?
Unlike fine wines, iPhone technology does not age well.
Apple churns out several new iPhones every year, which pushes the older models one step closer towards obsolescence. Declaring a product obsolete might sound romantic, but it's actually a standard business practice that Apple methodically conducts to stay current with supply and demand.
According to the Apple website, products are "considered obsolete when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than seven years ago." When a product is declared obsolete, it means Apple will no longer offer any hardware service. In other words, if you own a version of the iPhone that Apple stopped selling seven years ago, you won't be able to get service or parts if it breaks.
If your iPhone is on the obsolete list, it might be time to get a new one. But don't worry, there are plenty of iPhone options, like the iPhone 13 or iPhone SE, to choose from if you're looking for an upgrade.
Which iPhones are obsolete?
The current list of obsolete iPhones are the following, which means you're probably out of luck if you need a repair. But definitely give yourself a pat on the back for keeping it alive for this long.
iPhone
iPhone 3G (China mainland) 8GB
iPhone 3G 8GB, 16GB
iPhone 3GS (China mainland) 16GB, 32GB
iPhone 3GS (8GB)
iPhone 3GS 16GB, 32GB
iPhone 4 CDMA
iPhone 4 CDMA (8GB)
iPhone 4 16GB, 32GB
iPhone 4 GSM (8GB), Black
iPhone 4S (8GB)
Vintage iPhones
Then there are the vintage iPhones, which are the iPhones that aren't yet obsolete, but will be soon.
Think of vintage iPhones as existing in the liminal space right before the afterlife. They might be ready to let go soon, but not quite yet.
Technically, this means, "Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than five and less than seven years ago." If you own a vintage iPhone you may be able to keep it alive a little longer, but hopefully you have already begun to make peace with its inevitable end.
iPhone 4 (8GB)
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 6 Plus
Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.
