| Cult of Mac

A pair of 2017 MacBook Pro models slide onto Apple’s vintage list

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
If this is your MacBook Pro, we have some kind of bad news for you.
Photo: Apple

Two of the MacBook Pros that launched back in 2017 just got a bit harder to get repaired. That’s because they’ve been added to Apple’s official list of vintage devices. This includes the 15-inch model introduced in 2017 and one of the two 13-inch MacBook Pros.

But it’ll be years before they’re listed as obsolete.

Apple moves 12-inch MacBook onto its ‘obsolete’ list

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12-inch MacBook lineup
Apple doesn’t make MacBooks this small any more.
Photo: Apple

The original 12-inch MacBook released in 2015 has been added to Apple’s list of “obsolete” machines. Despite what the word implies, this doesn’t mean the notebook just became useless. But it will now be much harder to get one of these laptops serviced.

Apple labels products as obsolete seven years after it stops selling them.

Apple declares once hugely popular iPhone 6 to be ‘vintage’

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How much is your smartphone spying on you? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
It's time for iPhone 6 to ride off into the sunset.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 6 is now a “vintage” product. That doesn’t mean it’s now cool for hipsters to use one – it’s the classification Apple uses for products it stopped selling five years ago, and somewhat limits the repair options.

The iOS handset was hugely successful in its day, and probably still holds the title of the best-selling smartphone ever.

Get a vintage outdoor vibe with Philips Hue’s new smart lights

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The Inara's exposed filament harkens back to Thomas Edison.
The Inara's exposed filament harkens back to Thomas Edison.
Photo: Philips Hue

In time for upcoming spring and summer evenings, smart lighting company Philips Hue offers some cool retro-lighting options for you to try when it’s warm enough to gather outside. Or anytime you want to give your house’s exterior a vintage vibe, really.

Philips Hue owner Signify said three new additions to its outdoor smart lighting line launch on March 1. In addition, two new lighting effects for indoor smart bulbs will arrive on the Hue app later this year, the company added.

Repairing original Apple Watch just got harder

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Apple Watch supply is finally catching up with demand.
The very first Apple Watch was added to Apple’s list of vintage products on Thursday.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The first Apple Watch released back in 2015 has been classified by Apple as vintage. That might sound like a compliment, but it really means that getting the wearable repaired is a bit more difficult than it used to be.

Note that this is not Apple Watch Series 1. That’s a different model.

These MacBooks will hit Apple’s dreaded ‘vintage and obsolete’ list soon

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The new MacBook Air has more graphics power than it appears at first. Photo: Apple
Remember the 11-inch MacBook Air? Probably not.
Photo: Apple

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models that launched in 2013 and 2014 will reportedly be placed on Apple’s list of “vintage and obsolete products” at the end of April.

Despite what the name implies, this doesn’t mean these devices just became useless. Instead, it’s going to be harder to get them serviced.

Filmmaking app brings vintage vibes to your iPhone flicks

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Rtro video app for iPhone by Moment
Give your iPhone videos that retro look with Rtro.
Photo: Moment

Sometimes the story is best told with a home movie vibe straight out of a vintage 8 mm movie camera. That’s just not practical in the age of TikTok and Instagram, but there are plenty of smartphone apps to add a retro feel to your flicks.

The latest is actually called Rtro and it made its small-screen debut today when it became available for download in the App Store.

Apple expands pilot repair program for vintage Macs

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MacBook Air in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes.
Apple isn't giving up on the mid-2012 MacBook Air just yet.
Image: Apple

Apple is expanding its pilot repair program for vintage Macs.

Both the 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air machines released in mid-2012 will remain eligible for service at Apple Stores worldwide until August 31, 2020. That’s despite them being added to Apple’s vintage and obsolete products list on August 31, 2018.

Vintage news video shows Apple leaks aren’t a new phenomenon

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Security
I wish every Apple leak was presented like this.
Photo: KGO/Fast Company

It’s easy to think that the constant leaks about upcoming Apple products started during the age of Cupertino-obsessed blogs like, well, the one you’re reading right now.

However, a recently digitized news report from February 1988 — concerning a rumored “Macintosh Portable” — is a reminder that Apple leaks have been around for a long time. Check out the vintage report, from a San Francisco news station, below.

Apple will make four more Macs obsolete at end of 2016

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Mac App Store
It's time to upgrade.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you own a Mac that was made between 2009 to 2011 it is about to become officially obsolete.

Apple plans to no longer offer support for two MacBook Pros, a Mac mini and MacBook, according to a new report that reveals the devices are set to join the long list of vintage Apple products.