Apple Cinema Display, Apple TV and more products to reach Vintage status this week
According to a leaked internal document retrieved by 9to5Mac, a number of Apple products are scheduled to reach either “Vintage” or “Obsolete” status this week, prior to the
September 9, iPhone event.
The document has yet to be included in Apple’s official list of
Vintage and obsolete products, which is likely to be updated soon after the iPhone event. The cycle for products to reach one status or the other, is typically effective 5 years, from official discontinuation.
Vintage versus Obsolete
As mentioned above, Apple products that are no longer manufactured, may reach “Obsolete” status, after five years, which means that the company will no longer be required to maintain, or offer technical support for those products, worldwide, except in Turkey and California, where Apple is still required to provide extended technical support, for products that fall into the “Vintage” category.
Several iPod devices are scheduled to be on the chopping block, including the 3rd and 5th generation iPod Nano, the 3rd generation iPod Shuffle, and the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod Touch, and the iPod Classic.
Mac products listed in the document include the early 2007 Apple Cinema Display, and Apple LED Cinema Display, The late 2009 Mac Mini, and not-surprisingly, the Apple TV, which hasn’t seen an update since 2007. The inclusion of Apple TV in this list seems to be a strong indicator that the company is set to unveil the updated set top box very soon, perhaps as soon as September 9, a day after the outdated streaming device is declared officially “Vintage”.
Specs on the updated Apple TV are still object of speculation, however, rumors point to considerably updated hardware, a larger remote control with touch-based input and gesture support, perhaps powered by the same Force Touch technology first introduced in the 12 inch 2015 MacBook Retina. Siri support is also in the cards, especially since the iPhone event seems to provide a strong hint that Siri will take center stage.