When the iPad mini 2 and iPad Air 2 arrived in 2013 and 2014, respectively, they brought anticipated features that made buyers rush out to buy one. Now Apple has declared the once-popular tablets as vintage.
The iPad mini 2 was the first iPad mini to feature a Retina display and the iPad Air brought the Touch ID home button to Apple’s thinnest tablet. While the iPad Air 2 was discontinued in 2017, the third-generation iPad Air didn’t arrive until 2019. The iPad mini 2 was replaced by the iPad mini 3 in 2014 but continued to be sold until 2017.
Apple’s vintage list is the first step before declaring products obsolete. As Apple explains, products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than five and less than seven years ago. After seven years, products are declared obsolete, at which point Apple discontinues all hardware services. Vintage products can still be repaired, though it may be difficult to find parts.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.