Apple Says Fourth-Generation iPad Released in 2012 is Now Obsolete - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Says Fourth-Generation iPad Released in 2012 is Now Obsolete

by

Apple classified the fourth-generation iPad as an obsolete product as of November 1, meaning the device is no longer eligible for hardware service worldwide, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. The fourth-generation iPad has yet to be added to Apple's public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, but it should be soon.

ipad 4 lightning
Released in November 2012 alongside the original iPad mini, the fourth-generation iPad did away with Apple's classic 30-pin connector and adopted the Lightning connector that had debuted in the iPhone 5 just weeks earlier. The fourth-generation iPad also gained Apple's A6X chip for up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X chip in the third-generation iPad that had launched in March 2012.

Apple also classified the Late 2012 model Mac mini as an obsolete product as of November 1, according to the memo.

Tag: Vintage and Obsolete Apple Products

Popular Stories

MacBook Air family 10302018

Apple Adds Three More Macs to Obsolete Products List

Monday August 31, 2026 11:37 am PDT by
Apple today added three Macs to its list of obsolete products. The 2018 Retina MacBook Air, the 13-inch 2018 MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and the 13-inch 2017 MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 3 ports are now considered obsolete. The three products were previously part of the vintage list, but have been moved. Apple adds a product to the vintage list when it's been five years...
Read Full Article • 47 comments
iMac Blue Isolated

Apple's Last Intel 21.5-Inch iMac is Now Vintage

Tuesday September 15, 2026 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added the 2019 4K iMac to its list of vintage products, which means repairs can only be done if Apple has the parts available. Products are added to the vintage list five years after they were last distributed for sale, and they're moved to the obsolete list at the seven-year mark. Vintage products can be repaired at Apple Stores and by Apple Authorized Service Providers if the...
Read Full Article • 63 comments
8 CarPlay Features in iOS 27 Feature

Which iOS 27 CarPlay Features Actually Work in Your Car?

Thursday September 17, 2026 4:17 am PDT by
In iOS 27, available now, CarPlay gets its biggest update in years, but some features depend on what type of car you have rather than your iPhone model. Some of the biggest additions won't do anything in the vast majority of vehicles on the road today. Here's how the new features pan out. Works in Any CarPlay Vehicle Custom widgets: In iOS 27, CarPlay is no longer limited to Apple's handful ...
Read Full Article • 50 comments

Top Rated Comments

M
MacFather
64 months ago
Memories...

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
uller6 Avatar
uller6
64 months ago
RIP 2012 Mac mini. You were truly a workhorse.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
TMRJIJ
64 months ago
We thank you for your service, iPad (4th Generation)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
L
Lounge vibes 05
64 months ago

When Apple was a good brand, it was the user who decided when something was obsolete or not (and who was in control of not changing something when it just worked (TM)). And this was one of the strongest selling points of the Mac. Now Apple changed the game.


What Fantasy are you living in?
If anything, Apple supports their devices longer than they ever have.
Let's not forget about how Apple completely cut support for PowerPC only after one major upgrade post Intel transition.
If you bought any PowerPC computer in 2005-2006, you were kinda screwed by 2009.
Snow Leopard didn't support these computers, iLife 11 Didn't support these computers, the Mac App Store didn't support these computers, so after a while you were kind of just stuck with what you had.
Or who can forget the iPhone 3G. Released in 2008, sold at a reduced price up until June 2010... and then got its last software update that November.
2 years. Even the original iPhone got close to 3.
So yeah, I have no idea what reality you're living in where Apple used to never let devices go obsolete, but it is just far, far from reality.
At least today, Apple let's the iPad Air2, a device introduced in October 2014, run the latest iOS in 2021/22. And it runs it very well. That's 7 full years of software support, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an 8th.
2000s Apple wouldn't even be able to promise 7 years of support, let alone deliver.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lleial Avatar
lleial
64 months ago

Yeah, I'm using our iPad 4 the same way.
Back in 2017, my gf and I did this road trip on the East coast of Canada and we used the iPad 3 (32GB and 3G) for photos, videos and navigation! It worked flawlessly with more than enough battery; My mother has had to throw out over half a dozen android tablets, probably spending much more than what I did back in the day (700€), during the same time, which today is almost a decade!

Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
840quadra
64 months ago
Read this article and most responses to this thread on my older iPad 3. I downgraded it to iOS 8. Much faster and more stable than the later iOS 9 on these things.




Still read many sites on it daily, watch video podcasts in my kitchen, and monitor my home Blue Iris DVR from it.

Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments