Apple Adding Last MacBook Pro With CD Drive to Vintage Products List

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Apple will be adding the Mid 2012 model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro to its vintage products list on January 31, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors.

13 Inch MacBook Pro Mid 2012
Released in June 2012, this 13-inch MacBook Pro model was the last Mac with a built-in CD/DVD drive sold by Apple. It remained for sale until October 2016 as a lower-priced option alongside the thinner 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display.

Apple considers a device vintage once more than five years have passed since it stopped distributing the device for sale. Vintage products used to be ineligible for repairs in most regions, but Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers now offer repairs for vintage products for up to seven years, subject to parts availability.

On the software side, Apple dropped support for the Mid 2012 model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with macOS Big Sur in 2020.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro 13"
Tag: Vintage and Obsolete Apple Products
Buyer's Guide: 13" MacBook Pro (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

blazerunner Avatar
blazerunner
18 months ago

I've got two. SSD drives replaced the spinners. Batteries replaced. Recently the hard drive cable for one went "out of spec" and the drive became nearly unusable. Replaced the cable, better than new. Meet 95% of my needs. (The odd time I render out a video I think about upgrading.) Really love these.
Bingo. Some of the people in this thread are trashing the 2012 MacBooks without knowing that they are still more than capable for work that doesn't involve rendering or compression.

Reading the comments here is like watching YouTube review videos of products; apparently everyone is a vlogger running a business using Premiere or Finalcut..... yah, NO. Most people just need MS Office, Chrome, Spotify and Zoom. The 2012 MacBooks are still plenty fine for stuff like Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator as well... I'd know, I still use mine for that.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
blazerunner
18 months ago
The last upgradeable MacBook...
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Daalseth Avatar
Daalseth
18 months ago
I had the 15 inch version of this. I replaced the CD/DVD drive with a second HDD. The thing was a beast but it was built like a tank and just ran and ran and ran. It was fantastic.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
Realityck
18 months ago

I don’t think I own a single CD/DVD at my house. Do you?
I know DVDs, and CDs are old but still DVDs sell the most even to this day. For the week ending Jan 6, DVDs has 55% of the revenue per media play news.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
macduke
18 months ago
Yesterday I was fiddling around with Apple Music on my Mac and saw ”Burn CD” in some menu and clicked it just to see what would happen since I only have newer Macs. No errors or anything, it started burning a CD. I have no idea where it burned that CD to! Can you still even buy CD-Rs? Did Apple even port that code over when they moved from iTunes to Apple Music? I’m so confused.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimmuJapan Avatar
TimmuJapan
18 months ago
Believe it or not, there are a lot of professional musicians, educators and performers, who still use CDs (And hate dongles ?). Even in 2022, this can still be a wonderful computer for those people because:

1) The 2012 is highly upgradeable and repairable. With Maxed out ram, an SSD, and a new battery if needed, this baby will still fly.

2) macOS Catalina is still supported for about one more year, and this machine natively runs Catalina.

3) With Open Core Legacy Patcher, this machine will run macOS Big Sur perfectly, and as of right now macOS Monterey is still possible on this machine with a bit of post-install patching.

I will probably use the 2012 models for the rest of my life because I have about 500 CDs/DVDs in my house. I have no intention of selling them, they are a part of my life and my memories. ❤️
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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