These three ‘popular’ Apple products are now considered vintage

Apple Vintage products

Every couple of months, Apple updates its list of vintage and obsolete products. Joining the list are three of Apple’s iconic products — the iPhone X, first-generation HomePod and the first-generation AirPods. All three products marked Apple’s entry into a new territory.

The iPhone X was unveiled in September 2017 and was the tenth anniversary iPhone. It was the first iPhone that came without the home button and ushered in the era of FaceID. It was also the first iPhone to come with a notch.

The AirPods have been a trailblazer not just for Apple but the true wireless earbuds category. The first-generation AirPods were launched in 2016 and since the AirPods have become the world’s most popular true wireless earbuds.

While announced in 2017, the first generation HomePod was launched in February 2018 and marked Apple’s entry in the smart speaker category. The HomePod is still around but hasn’t made too much of leeway in the smart speaker market.

What are vintage Apple products?

Apple classifies a product as vintage when it doesn’t get regular software products. One of Apple’s biggest USP is that products — be it iPhone, iPad or Mac — continue to get software updates for a minimum of five years. A Vintage product, however, doesn’t stand to get any updates and Apple also doesn’t promise repairs or service to these products. On its support page, Apple explains, “Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago.” People continue to use these products and they work fine but their shelf life is reduced when they don’t get regular software updates.