Why did Apple just declare a 12-year-old iPhone obsolete?

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In summary:

Apple has officially declared the iPhone 5 obsolete, ending all hardware servicing for the 12-year-old device that launched in 2012.
According to Macworld’s understanding, this move is unusually delayed since Apple typically declares products obsolete around seven years after discontinuation.
The extended support period remains mysterious, especially since newer iPhone models have already reached obsolete status before the iPhone 5.

The bad news is that Apple just ended all hardware servicing for one of its most popular products. The good news is that the product is the iPhone 5, which was discontinued more than 12 years ago, and it’s frankly amazing that it lasted this long.

Apple has three categories for products that it has stopped selling and are no longer covered by warranty: discontinued, vintage, and obsolete.

For a minimum of five years after they are discontinued, the products are still relatively easy to get repaired because servicing and replacement parts continue to be available from Apple service providers. At this point, products are declared vintage, at which point servicing may still be available, but it depends on whether the provider still has the parts. And around the seven-year mark, they are declared obsolete, and all hardware servicing ends.

It’s important to note that those timeframes are only minimums, and they are sometimes stretched. And based on the device declared obsolete this week, Apple just stretched the definition of obsolete by an astonishing margin.

As spotted by MacRumors, the iPhone 5 this week moved from the vintage to the obsolete category on Apple’s official list. The fact that it’s on the list is indisputable, but it’s hard to know for sure whether it definitely made the transition this week. Apple just quietly updates the list; it doesn’t make announcements. But MacRumors seems sure it moved on March 16, and a quick trip to the Wayback…

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