The 12-inch MacBook first introduced by Apple in 2015 has now been added to Apple’s list of vintage products. Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than five years ago and less than seven years ago.
The 12-inch Retina MacBook was first introduced during Apple’s March Event in 2015, with Apple touting it as the thinnest MacBook to date. It ushered in a new era for the MacBook lineup with a USB-C port and butterfly keyboard design. At one point, Apple’s Phil Schiller even acknowledged that the 12-inch MacBook “created many of the pioneering technologies” that eventually made their way to the MacBook Pro.
9to5Mac‘s Taylor Hall wrote in 2019:
From trivial changes like space gray/gold finishes and display lids too thin for backlit Apple logos to futurist new features like automatically booting up when the lid is opened and a giant Force Touch trackpad without the diving board click button, the MacBook introduced changes that now outlive the machine.
Of course, now rumors indicate that Apple is looking to undo many of those changes with the next MacBook Pro update. A new MacBook Pro coming later this year will reintroduce ports including an SD card slot and HDMI, and Apple has shifted its entire MacBook line away from the infamous butterfly keyboard.
The 12-inch MacBook being added to Apple’s “vintage” products list today is the model first introduced in 2015. The subsequent updates in 2016 and 2017 are not yet considered “vintage” by Apple. Apple discontinued the 12-inch MacBook lineup altogether in 2019.
In the past, vintage Apple products were no longer eligible for repairs from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, Nowadays, however, repairs are subject to parts availability but may still be possible. A product loses all hardware service when it becomes “obsolete,” which happens when Apple stopped distributing it for sale more than seven years ago.
