- Apple has marked iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 as ‘Vintage’
- This means there are fewer repair options if you need them
- The next step is to declare them ‘outdated’ but it has not happened yet
If you are still rocking an iPhone 7 Plus or an iPhone 8, we have some bad news: Apple has just added them to its list of “vintage” products, which means your repair options have just become a little more limited.
Apple declares that a product is vintage as the company stopped selling it more than five, but less than seven years ago. Apple does this from time to time with older devices – after all, it cannot offer continuous support to any device it has ever produced an indefinite basis. But the news will still come as a disappointment to anyone who still uses one of these phones.
What does it mean in practice? When Apple classifies a product like ‘vintage’, it cuts down on the support it will offer to owners. In theory, you will still be able to get one of these products repaired by Apple or an Apple authorized service provider (AASP), but it depends on whether the parts are still available. If they aren’t, you can’t get real components when it’s time to repair your phone.
After a product is classified as a vintage, the next step is that Apple should feel the ‘outdated’ and this usually arises when more than seven years have passed since Apple last offered the device for sale. The iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 were interrupted in 2019 and 2020 respectively, which means you still got another year or two until they are classified as outdated.
Old-school charm
The iPhone 7 Plus, launched in 2016, was the larger version of the iPhone 7, and it came with water and dust resistance, a fixed-state home button, new color settings and revised antenna bands. It also marked controversial removal of 3.5 mm headphone jack once and for all.
The iPhone 8 meanwhile was released in 2017 and came with wireless charging, genuine tone technology, a better chip and improved cameras. It launched with iPhone X, which was the first iPhone on all screens and sent the home button to the story.
This is the second time in recent months that Apple has added devices to its list of vintage products. In mid -April, the iPhone 6S was marked as a vintage along with Mac Mini 2018. Don’t be surprised to see additional products added to Apple’s list over the next year.
