Apple has added two of its most iconic products to its list of aging devices that are no longer supported. After a decade, the 1st generation iPad Air and Thunderbolt Display — released in 2013 and 2011, respectively — became officially considered obsolete products by the manufacturer.
Rumors at the beginning of the month indicated that these products would finally leave the “vintage” list, that is, devices that have not been manufactured for more than 5 years and less than 7 years, but that can still receive some kind of support. This Wednesday (31), Apple confirmed the rumors and added its first ultra-thin tablet and monitor to the obsolete list.
As a result, both versions of the 1st generation iPad Air (Wi-Fi and Cellular) will no longer receive technical support worldwide. This tablet marked a new design strategy for Apple portables in 2013, which sought to develop extremely thin and light products. The following year, with a similar visual identity, the brand introduced the iPhone 6.
The 1st generation iPad Air had a 9.7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1536 x 2048 pixels. Its processor was the Apple A7, inherited from the iPhone 5S, which sported a dual-core architecture of just 1.3 GHz. Its 5 MP rear camera was capable of recording videos in up to Full HD @ 30 FPS. The template has been updated up to iOS 12.5.7.
In contrast, the 5th generation iPad Air that we currently have available at Apple’s official store has a 10.9-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1640 x 2360 pixels, in addition to Apple’s powerful M1 chip that is also used in the MacBook Air of 2020 and the 12 MP main camera that records videos at up to 4K @ 60 FPS.
The Thunderbolt Display, on the other hand, was a high-performance professional monitor for its time. With its 27-inch IPS screen delivering Quad HD resolution (1440p), the model brought extra features that included its built-in 720p FaceTime HD camera, three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800, a Gigabit Ethernet, and obviously, a Thunderbolt.
Currently, the consumer-oriented display available in Apple’s portfolio is the Studio Display. The model has a 27-inch screen with a resolution of 5,120 x 2,880 pixels, a 12 MP embedded camera with Center Stage, a Thunderbolt 3 port and three USB-C ports. The product costs from R$ 16,599 in Europe.
