Apple will add soon First generation iPad Air and the Thunderbolt Display to the list of obsolete products. According to the document previewed by colleagues of macrumors.comthe transition from the list of vintage products to those that are considered officially obsolete will take place at the end of the month, on May 31st, and this, in short, means that they will no longer have assistance through official channels.
First generation iPad Air dates back to 2013. Equipped with a 9.7-inch IPS display and the Apple A7 SoC, the same as the iPhone 5s, it left the scene in 2016. In Europe it was sold starting November 1, 2013 for 479 euros list in the Wi-Fi only variant with 16 GB of storage, 120 euros more for the equivalent in Cellular configuration. Software support stopped with iOS 12.5.7, it was out with iOS 7.
The Thunderbolt displays it dates back to 2011: 27-inch TFT IPS screen, 1440p resolution (avant-garde at the time), 720p FaceTime HD webcam, three powered USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800, one Gigabit Ethernet and one Thunderbolt, to be precise. It cost $1,000. Like the original iPad Air, the Thunderbolt Display is still part of the vintage product list around the world, but at the end of the month, according to the rumor, it will end up in the obsolete one.
Apple’s policy is that products become vintage five years after they leave the scene, obsolete after seven. The difference between the two categories is essential: the products vintage can be officially repaired at Apple or authorized centers, at least technically because the feasibility is subject to the availability of spare parts.
About products obsolete instead there is not even a doubt about the availability of parts: they cannot be repaired through official channels, therefore in the event of problems the only solution is to contact third-party repairers, availability of (non-original) spare parts permitting.
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