ANOTHER popular gadget is destined for the scrapheap after Apple officially designated it “obsolete”.
It joins hundreds of products already on the list that are beyond repair.
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Like any tech company, Apple routinely discontinues older devices and continues to offer software and servicing for a limited period after.
The firm has two key phases: vintage and obsolete.
An Apple gadget is classified as vintage when Apple stopped distributing it for sale more than five and less than seven years ago.
You can still get a repair sorted from authorised service providers during this period but there’s no guarantee as the parts become limited.
But when it steps into the obsolete stage you can’t get any repairs sorted at all.
A device is considered obsolete when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than seven years ago.
As you would expect, with 49 years in the business, Apple has a lot of discontinued products now.
And there are a sizeable number of iPhones on the list dating back to the very first in 2007.
Of course, it includes other gizmos too, such as the Apple Watch.
And it’s a popular Apple Watch model that’s been bumped down to obsolete this week.
The second-generation Apple Watch Series 1 models released in 2016 have been added.
So if you own one, don’t count on any repairs – you’ll have to upgrade to a newer Apple Watch.
This means the full list of obsolete Apple Watch products is now:
- Apple Watch (1st generation), 38mm
- Apple Watch (1st generation), 42mm
- Apple Watch Edition (1st generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Edition (1st generation), 42 mm
- Apple Watch Hermes (1st generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Hermes (1st generation), 42 mm
- Apple Watch Series 1, Aluminium (2nd generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Series 1, Aluminium (2nd generation), 42 mm
- Apple Watch Series 2, Aluminium (2nd generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Series 2, Aluminium (2nd generation), 42 mm
- Apple Watch Series 2, Stainless Steel (2nd generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Series 2, Stainless Steel (2nd generation), 42 mm
- Apple Watch Sport (1st generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Sport (1st generation), 42 mm
- Apple Watch Stainless Steel (1st generation), 38 mm
- Apple Watch Stainless Steel (1st generation), 42 mm
WHY DO GADGETS GET DISCONTINUED?
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
It’s never good news to hear that your favourite gadget is no longer repairable and you’ll have to buy an expensive new one altogether.
But Apple is fairly good for making tech last as long as possible, providing plenty of software updates for years after a product was released.
However, there comes a point when they have to stop.
For something like a smartwatch it’s simply not financially viable to keep producing parts for items that few people now own.
Given the second-generation Apple Watch Series 1 models were released nine years ago, a lot has changed since then.
If you do still own one, chances are it’s probably quite battered and slow now.
