Apple adds iPhone 11 Pro Max and Apple Watch Series 3 to ‘Vintage’ list: What does it mean for you?
Apple has decided to add the iPhone 11 Pro Max and Apple Watch Series 3 to its infamous Vintage list. However, the Cupertino-based tech giant hasn’t added the iPhone 11 Pro to the vintage list, meaning that the smaller device is still officially supported with parts and services from Apple.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max was launched in September 2019, and while it has officially been put on the Vintage list, the phone continues to support Apple’s latest iOS 26 software, albeit without the Apple Intelligence features.
Both the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max had been discontinued in October 2020, shortly after the company’s announcement of the iPhone 12 series.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 3 was launched in September 2017 and continued to be available for sale on the Apple website till September 2022.
This is the second time Apple has added products to its vintage list after the iPhone 17 launch. Soon after the launch, Apple had added three MacBook versions to the list, along with the iPhone 8 Plus‘ 64GB and 256GB models.
Apple routinely adds older devices to the vintage list to better manage its supply chain and focus resources on newer products. Adding older products to the vintage list also signals to users that their phone may not be fully supported and it may be time to upgrade to a new device.
What does being a Vintage device mean?
According to Apple, a product is deemed vintage when it has been out of the sales market for more than five years but less than seven years. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers do not usually repair these products.
While devices on the vintage list are not obsolete, they have limited official hardware support from Apple, and the authorized service providers for them become limited.
The devices will continue to work normally, but repairs for them will only be available as long as the parts remain in stock, and once the parts run out, official support will cease.
