Rarity officially — iPhone 6s and Mac mini 2018 are now "vintage"

The Apple company has updated its list of "vintage" products, adding the Mac mini released in 2018 and the iPhone 6s. As a result, their service and repair are now limited.

MacRumors writes about it.

Why the iPhone 6s has become vintage only now

Despite the fact that the iPhone 6s was first presented in 2015, Apple continued to produce it as a budget model until 2018. That is why this smartphone has been included in the list of "vintage" smartphones only now. This model had an Apple A9 chip, a reinforced aluminium body (to avoid the problems known as "bendgate" in the previous iPhone 6 model), was the first with 3D Touch, and the last flagship model with an audio headphone jack.

In 2018, the Mac mini was released before Apple switched to its own Apple Silicon processors. In fact, this model turned out to be the final version with Intel inside — with Coffee Lake chips with 4 or 6 cores, as well as Intel UHD Graphics 630.

The devices fall into the "vintage" category five years after they were discontinued. Apple and authorised service centers (AASPs) can repair such devices for some time, but only if the necessary spare parts are available.

Devices are considered completely obsolete after seven years from the date of discontinuation. In this case, Apple and the AASP usually do not carry out repairs, and parts are no longer supplied by the manufacturer.

As a reminder, Apple was planning to release the iPhone 17 Air not only as the thinnest device, but also with a large 6.9-inch screen. However, due to fears of the old "bendgate" scandal with the iPhone 6 Plus, when the smartphone bent in the pocket, the company decided to stop at 6.6 inches.

We also wrote that the iPhone mini gained popularity among some users, but this was not enough to continue producing compact devices. However, according to rumors, fans of small smartphones are waiting for the foldable iPhone, which will be just as compact when folded.