Apple designates popular iPhone model obsolete, leaving furious users without support

It’s tech-stinct.

Apple fans are up in arms after the tech firm added the first-generation iPhone SE to its obsolete products list.

Effectively immediately, the device will no longer be eligible for repairs or other services at Apple Stores or authorized third party vendors, MacRumors reported.

Launched in 2016 alongside the iPhone 7, the iPhone SE was widely considered Apple’s first true budget Smartphone, running buyers only $399, Mashable reported. For reference, the starting price for the new iPhone 17 clocks in at a staggering $799.

The discount device featured the best aspects of the iPhone 5, including a 4-inch display, a Touch ID home button, and iconic aluminum-and-glass frame.

It also came with an A9 chipset that made it markedly faster than other small phones on the market, and boasted longer battery life, double the processing power and better graphics than the iPhone 5.

Alas, the proletariat gadget was discontinued in 2018, meaning that it is effectively obsolete per Apple’s policy, which designates products as such when they’ve stopped distributing “them for sale more than 7 years ago.”

By comparison, products are labeled “vintage” after being out of circulation for 5 years.

In accordance with the obsolete designation, the company is not obligated to repair the iPhone SE even if it stops working, rendering it no more than a relic form the past.

“Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, and service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products,” the site specifies.

The iPhone SE’s loyal fanbase was none too pleased with the tech firm putting their favorite product out to pasture.

“They’ll pry my 2016 iPhone SE from my cold, dead hands,” griped one, while another wrote, “I don’t change mine until forced to. My SE iPhone works just fine.”

Some even accused Apple of purposefully scrapping products prematurely to boost their profits. “Never ending push for you to spend more money,” lamented one tech-head. “Digital planed obsolescence. There is nothing wrong with that generation of phone.”

Apple rolled out the second-generation and third-generation iPhone SE models in April 2020 and March 2022, both of which feature similar designs to the iPhone 8,

The iPhone SE was then given the axe entirely for the foreseeable future, after getting swapped out for the iPhone 16e.

The iPhone SE joins a long list of Apple products relegated to obsolescence.

Recent additions to the proverbial scrapheap included the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (second generation), the Apple Watch Series 4 Hermes models, and the Apple Watch Series 4 Nike models.