Apple Adding Late 2012 iMacs to Vintage and Obsolete Products Pilot Program at End of January

Friday January 11, 2019 6:03 am PST by Joe Rossignol

In an internal memo distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that Late 2012 model 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs will be added to its vintage and obsolete products list on January 30.

Vintage and obsolete products are typically no longer eligible for repairs or replacement parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, but the memo states Late 2012 model iMacs will be eligible for Apple's pilot program that will permit extended service through January 30, 2021 worldwide, subject to parts availability.

Other products in the pilot program include the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, Mid 2012 models of the MacBook Air and Mac Pro, and Mid 2012 to Early 2013 models of the MacBook Pro. The program began in January 2018 and was expanded in August.

Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than five years, according to Apple.

Related Roundup: iMac

Tag: vintage and obsolete

Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)

Top Rated Comments

shaunp

28 months ago

At this rate the 2013 Mac Pro will be 'vintage' yet still on sale....;)

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

first-to-tea

28 months ago

This should be illegal. Products should be supported for repair up to 10 years, no less. 7 years is simply unacceptable. This especially is important since Apple suggests its business is “environmental”. More repairs will ensure a more sustainable outcome for the environment.

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

2ilent8cho

28 months ago

Well thats 2 of my devices going Vintage this year then. Shame they will not be offically supported hardware wise still for repair as they both don't miss a beat and perform as good as the day i bought them.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

TheFluffyDuck

28 months ago

2012 iMac was the worst Apple computer I have ever used. The hard drive was so slow to the point of being unusable. Being a university computer I couldn't rip it open and put in an SSD as much as I dearly wanted too. So slow and crappy it took 2-5min to load MS office. I just defaulted to my MBP. It became a paper weight on my desk. I dont know what they were thinking still shipping with 5600 rpm hard drives. Such a bottle neck.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

marzer

28 months ago

My 2012 iMac is the best Mac I ever owned. Core i7, Fusion drive, GTX 680MX GPU which is still a good performing graphic card today (probably the best GPU ever put in an iMac). My 2017 iMac with the Radeon 580 Pro doesn’t feel as smooth, wasn’t a huge leap in performance given the 5 year difference, but my son won’t trade with me, he prefers the 2012’s Nvidia card for gaming.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

varsity

28 months ago

2012 iMac was the worst Apple computer I have ever used. The hard drive was so slow to the point of being unusable. Being a university computer I couldn't rip it open and put in an SSD as much as I dearly wanted too. So slow and crappy it took 2-5min to load MS office. I just defaulted to my MBP. It became a paper weight on my desk. I dont know what they were thinking still shipping with 5600 rpm hard drives. Such a bottle neck.

As a Mac repair technician (not at all affiliated with Apple) the 2010-2012 iMac or Macbook with an SSD is an amazing upgrade. If you still have it I would recommend you pop one in. You should rally consider this as we do these all the time for our customers with amazing results. As for Apple moving to put these iMacs in a vintage status this is ridiculous and just a move to boost their profits by selling new and not repairing good machines. Terrible for the environment and harmful to independent small business.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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