If you have an iPhone 4 or Late 2010 13-inch MacBook Air in need of repair, you may need to act quickly: Japanese site Macotakara is reporting that Apple will declare both products obsolete from the end of the month. This means that Apple will, with a a couple of exceptions, no longer offer parts or repair services for these products.
You’re already out of luck for the CDMA version of the iPhone 4, which lost support last month, along with three Macs.
The 3rd-generation AirPort Extreme and 2nd-generation Time Capsule will reportedly meet the same fate on October 31 …
Apple supports products with parts and repairs for five years after production ceases, at which point the company declares them obsolete – or technically ‘vintage,’ as consumer law in California and Turkey insists the company must continue to offer support for seven years. Apple only actually uses the word ‘obsolete’ at the seven-year mark.
The notice Macotakara has seen is for Japan, but these status changes apply worldwide. The iPhone 4 marks a milestone of sorts, as the first device with a Retina display to reach vintage status.
You can check out the full list of vintage and obsolete products over at Apple’s support site. You may of course still be able to find older products on eBay and elsewhere, either to replace broken ones or to serve as sources of parts.
