Apple has added the eight-year-old iPad 2 tablet to their “Vintage and Obsolete” list. The device is the last to be launched by Steve Jobs during a March 2011 Apple event.
Jobs returned from a health-related leave of absence to personally unveil the iPad 2. “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I didn’t want to miss today,” he said.
The iPad 2 debuted in March 2011 and continued to be sold by Apple until March 2014. The tablet featured a 9.7-inch display with 132 PPI, was powered by an A5 chip, and a 0.7-megapixel rear camera. It used a 30-pin dock connector for charging and syncing.
What’s Vintage, and What’s Obsolete?
The iPad 2 is now declared “vintage” in the United States and Turkey, while it is classified as “obsolete” everywhere else. Apple’s website explains the difference:
Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago. Apple has discontinued hardware service for vintage products with the following exceptions:
- Mac products purchased in the country of Turkey. Owners of vintage Mac products may obtain service and parts from Apple service providers within the country of Turkey.
- Products purchased in the state of California, United States, as required by statute
- Owners of vintage Mac products may obtain service and parts from Apple service providers within the state of California, United States.
- Owners of vintage iPod products in the state of California may obtain service from Apple Retail Stores or by contacting AppleCare at 1-800-APL-CARE.
- Owners of vintage iPhone products in the state of California may obtain service from Apple Retail Stores or by contacting AppleCare at 1-800-APL-CARE.
For products purchased in France, see Statutory Warranties of Seller and Spare Parts.
Obsolete products are those that were discontinued more than 7 years ago. Monster-branded Beats products are considered obsolete regardless of when they were purchased. Apple has discontinued all hardware service for obsolete products with no exceptions. Service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products. All Apple Retail Stores and the Canadian, European, Latin American, and Asia-Pacific operating regions follow the U.S. product list, but make no distinction between vintage and obsolete. When applied to Apple Retail Stores and these operating regions, products on the U.S. vintage list (all models) are considered obsolete.
What all this means is that Apple will no longer provide hardware support for the iPad 2, expecting in Turkey and California, two locales where local laws require service to be provided for such devices for a longer period of time. Apple must continue to offer some level of service for the iPad 2 in Turkey and California until 2021.
