- Apple has marked the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 as ‘vintage’
- This means that there are fewer repair options if you need them
- The next step is to declare them ‘obsolete’, but that has not yet happened
If you are still shaking an iPhone 7 Plus or an iPhone 8, we have some bad news: Apple has just added to your “vintage” products list, which means that your repair options have become a little more limited.
Apple declares that a product is vintage when the company stopped selling it more than five, but less than seven years ago. Apple does this from time to time with older devices; After all, you cannot offer continuous support for each device that has produced indefinitely. But the news will continue to be a disappointment for anyone who still uses one of these phones.
What does this mean in practice? Well, when Apple classifies a product as ‘vintage’, it reduces the support it will offer to the owners. In theory, you can still repair one of these products by Apple or an Authorized Apple (AASP) service provider, but it depends on whether the pieces are still available. If they are not, you can not obtain genuine components when it is time to repair your phone.
After a product has been classified as vintage, the next step is that Apple label it “obsolete”, and this generally occurs when more than seven years have passed since Apple offered the device for sale. The iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 8 were suspended in 2019 and 2020, respectively, which means that it still has another year or two until they are classified as obsolete.
Old school charm
Run in 2016, the iPhone 7 Plus was the largest version of the iPhone 7, and came with water and dust resistance, a solid state start button, new color options and reviewed antenna bands. He also marked the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone connector once and for all.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 was launched in 2017 and wine with wireless load, true tone technology, better chip and improved cameras. It was launched along with the iPhone X, which was the first iPhone of the entire screen and consigned the starting button to the story.
This is the second time in the last months that Apple has added devices to its vintage products list. In mid -April, the iPhone 6S was marked as vintage, along with the MAC Mini 2018. Do not be surprised to see more products added to Apple’s list during the next year.
