Apple Says Fourth-Generation iPad Released in 2012 is Now Obsolete

Apple classified the fourth-generation iPad as an obsolete product as of November 1, meaning the device is no longer eligible for hardware service worldwide, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. The fourth-generation iPad has yet to be added to Apple's public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, but it should be soon.

ipad 4 lightning
Released in November 2012 alongside the original iPad mini, the fourth-generation iPad did away with Apple's classic 30-pin connector and adopted the Lightning connector that had debuted in the iPhone 5 just weeks earlier. The fourth-generation iPad also gained Apple's A6X chip for up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X chip in the third-generation iPad that had launched in March 2012.

Apple also classified the Late 2012 model Mac mini as an obsolete product as of November 1, according to the memo.

Popular Stories

General Black Friday Deals 24 Green Tinsel

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now: AirPods, iPads, and More

Friday November 22, 2024 5:28 am PST by
Black Friday 2024 is less than one week away, and as always the next few days will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals. Right now, this includes big savings on popular Apple products like AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
ipads early bf deals

7 Best Black Friday iPad Deals for 2024

Saturday November 23, 2024 1:44 pm PST by
We're less than one week away from Black Friday on November 29, and Best Buy and Amazon currently have all-time low prices across Apple's entire iPad lineup. This includes Apple's 9th and 10th generation iPad, iPad mini 7, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which...
silo tv show apple tv plus

Apple TV+ Releasing Next Week's 'Silo' Episode Early

Friday November 22, 2024 7:25 am PST by
The next episode of Apple TV+'s award-winning sci-fi series "Silo" will be released early. Apple previously announced that new "Silo" episodes would be released on Fridays, but the third episode of the second season will instead be released on Wednesday, November 27. Apple has likely bumped up the date so that people can watch the episode during the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday,...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19's First New Feature Has Leaked

Friday November 22, 2024 6:22 am PST by
iOS 19 is not expected to be announced until June 2025, but the software update's first major new feature has already leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this week reported that iOS 19 will introduce a "more conversational Siri" powered by "more advanced large language models." He said this upgrade will make Siri more like OpenAI's ChatGPT, allowing the assistant to "handle more sophisticated...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

iPhone 17 and 'iPhone 17 Air' Expected to Lack 5x Optical Zoom Lens

Friday November 22, 2024 11:04 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 and all-new "iPhone 17 Air" will not have a 5x optical zoom lens, according to Korean publication The Elec (via 9to5Mac). The report said the tetraprism camera system that enables 5x optical zoom will remain exclusive to the Pro models in next year's iPhone lineup, meaning that it would only be available on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Of course, with the ...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
beats snow

Black Friday Deals Hit Beats Headphones With Up to 52% Off

Thursday November 21, 2024 12:05 pm PST by
Beats is joining in on the Black Friday discount frenzy, with up to 52 percent off select headphones, earbuds, and speakers on Amazon. You'll find many of the same prices at other retailers like Best Buy as well. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. This sale...
Apple 2024 Black Friday Shopping Event feature

Apple Announces 2024 Black Friday Event, Offering Up to $200 Gift Card

Thursday November 21, 2024 5:10 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 29 through Monday, December 2 in many countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and others. During the event, customers can get an Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible product. In the U.S., for instance, Apple is including gift ...

Top Rated Comments

uller6 Avatar
40 months ago
RIP 2012 Mac mini. You were truly a workhorse.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFather Avatar
40 months ago
Memories...

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
40 months ago
We thank you for your service, iPad (4th Generation)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
40 months ago

When Apple was a good brand, it was the user who decided when something was obsolete or not (and who was in control of not changing something when it just worked (TM)). And this was one of the strongest selling points of the Mac. Now Apple changed the game.


What Fantasy are you living in?
If anything, Apple supports their devices longer than they ever have.
Let's not forget about how Apple completely cut support for PowerPC only after one major upgrade post Intel transition.
If you bought any PowerPC computer in 2005-2006, you were kinda screwed by 2009.
Snow Leopard didn't support these computers, iLife 11 Didn't support these computers, the Mac App Store didn't support these computers, so after a while you were kind of just stuck with what you had.
Or who can forget the iPhone 3G. Released in 2008, sold at a reduced price up until June 2010... and then got its last software update that November.
2 years. Even the original iPhone got close to 3.
So yeah, I have no idea what reality you're living in where Apple used to never let devices go obsolete, but it is just far, far from reality.
At least today, Apple let's the iPad Air2, a device introduced in October 2014, run the latest iOS in 2021/22. And it runs it very well. That's 7 full years of software support, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an 8th.
2000s Apple wouldn't even be able to promise 7 years of support, let alone deliver.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lleial Avatar
40 months ago

Yeah, I'm using our iPad 4 the same way.
Back in 2017, my gf and I did this road trip on the East coast of Canada and we used the iPad 3 (32GB and 3G) for photos, videos and navigation! It worked flawlessly with more than enough battery; My mother has had to throw out over half a dozen android tablets, probably spending much more than what I did back in the day (700€), during the same time, which today is almost a decade!

Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
40 months ago
Read this article and most responses to this thread on my older iPad 3. I downgraded it to iOS 8. Much faster and more stable than the later iOS 9 on these things.




Still read many sites on it daily, watch video podcasts in my kitchen, and monitor my home Blue Iris DVR from it.

Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)