Apple Revises Vintage-Obsolete Date of 2012 15-Inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display to End of 2018

A few months ago, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple indicated the Mid 2012 model 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display would be classified as vintage or obsolete as of June 30, 2018, marking the notebook's end of hardware service eligibility at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers.

retina macbook pro 2012
In a notice distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, however, Apple says it "incorrectly classified" the notebook as vintage or obsolete on June 30, and revised the date to December 31, 2018.

The full-length internal document, obtained from multiple sources:

In a Service News article published in May 2018, the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012) was incorrectly classified as vintage in the state of California (U.S.) and country of Turkey and obsolete worldwide (except for California and Turkey) on June 30, 2018.

Please note that the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012) will not become vintage in California (U.S.) and Turkey and obsolete in all other countries until the end of December 2018.

Apple apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Apple has yet to remove the notebook from its public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, as shown below.

mbp 2012 vintage list
Apple considers a product to be vintage or obsolete, depending on the region, when at least five years have passed since the product was last manufactured. When this happens, Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers stop offering hardware service, like repairs, except in California and Turkey by law.

All in all, if you're still using this particular MacBook Pro, it turns out you still have a little under six months of hardware support remaining from the Genius Bar and certified repair shops. So, if you've been looking to get that battery replaced, or otherwise, it would be best to do so sooner rather than later.

Beyond that date, you're on your own. Fortunately, the repair experts at iFixit offer many do-it-yourself guides and replacement parts.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
91 months ago
So they give you a 6 month reprieve before forcing you to toss it in the landfill. Thanks, Apple.
That's right, slobber! As soon as the service date ends, the Mac self-destructs and is completely inoperable. Tim Cook then arrives at your house with sunglasses and a machete, presses it to your throat and tells you to toss your Mac in the landfill or bad things will happen.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1000 others Avatar
91 months ago
When the 2016 mbp is obsolete and it's up to us to repair our own machines we are screwed.
What are you talking about? The 2016 MBP was obsolete the day it came out.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eightarmedpet Avatar
91 months ago
So they give you a 6 month reprieve before forcing you to toss it in the landfill. Thanks, Apple.
Not sure if you are serious but you dont have to throw anything away if its still working...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFather Avatar
91 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimmeyCook Avatar
91 months ago
Incredible how the time passes...

It's a 6 year old model and it's still modern.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimmeyCook Avatar
91 months ago
That's what I love about computers unlike smartphones and tablets.
Thank Intel and the rest of the industry for the slow pace of innovation.

Back in the 90's, if you had bought a computer in 1992, it would be ridiculously in need for an update in 1998.

I mean, in 1992, there was no such thing as 3D graphics cards in the market, and in 1998, there were Voodoo 2's running Unreal.

In 1992 a sound card were crappy and totally optional, in 1998 it was a given in any computer and they were PCM based.

In 1998 you got your fancy 3.5" floppy in 1998, some more expensive builds had DVDs, and Steve Jobs wanted to take your floppies away.

In 1992 some people were insisting (still) that you only could do real work on text user interfaces, and in 1998 GUI was not a question, and Java was a thing.

In 1992 you had thy centronics and RS232 on PCs or SCSI on Macs, in 1998 the iMac had USB and FireWire and Ethernet as standard.

In fact, a mundane PC in 1998 like the iMac G3 could emulate a 1992 PC purely in software.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)