Apple makes the last-ever iPod nano and iPod shuffle obsolete

Apple has a straightforward system for when it declares old devices officially vintage, or officially obsolete — and it's an important distinction. A vintage device can still get service repairs, while an obsolete one cannot.

The latest devices to be listed on Apple's support pages as vintage are the 12-inch MacBook and iPad (6th generation), both from 2017. Neither were especially classic devices that might now be mourned, but users who still rely on them need to be thinking about replacements.

Whereas the users of the newly obsolete products would have no choice but to replace, except that there's a decent chance the devices are still working fine. And in this case, there are classics involved.

Newly listed as obsolete by Apple are:

1. the 2017 iPod shuffle
2. the 2017 iPod nano
3. iPhone 6

It's no coincidence that the devices are from 2017. The rule is that a device becomes vintage five years after it was last sold by Apple, and obsolete two years after that.

The categorization, and the change in whether a device can be repaired, is very specifically tied to these five and seven years after a device ceases to be sold. This is what produces some apparent inconsistencies, as it is not a measure of time since a device was first released.

So in the new obsolete list there's the iPhone 6, which came out at the same time as the iPhone 6 Plus but stayed on sale for longer. In the vintage list, there's the iPod touch (6th generation), but as yet not the iPod touch (5th generation.)

Apple does this continually and it's under such clear criteria that it's never a surprise when a device is rendered vintage or obsolete. But sometimes it does seem like the end of an era, such as with the iPod nano and iPod shuffle.

The iPod range as a whole ended in 2022 when the final generation of the iPod touch stopped being made. At the time, Apple continued selling it but only while stocks lasted, and it's not clear just when it those supplies ran out.

However, come 2029, even the final iPod touch must become obsolete.