Modified from an image on PC Mag
Apple’s making a stunning addition to its vintage products list, soon. MacRumors ran a piece over the weekend, saying that Apple’s last MacBook Pro with a CD drive is headed that way. What the headline doesn’t say is that that machine hit the market almost ten-years ago. The site says it’s seen an internal memo that shows the Mid-2012 13-inch MacBook Pro going vintage at the end of this month. “Released in June 2012,” says the report:
…this 13-inch MacBook Pro model was the last Mac with a built-in CD/DVD drive sold by Apple. It remained for sale until October 2016 as a lower-priced option alongside the thinner 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display.
I say it’s a stunning addition for a couple of reasons: First, Apple started making the machine almost a decade ago and second, it’s been over five-years since Apple stopped selling it. That’s the cutoff for vintage devices - stopped selling five years ago, but less than seven. It’s a potentially important distinction. When a machine is obsolete, sanctioned service is unavailable. If a device is vintage, repairs are possible from Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers, provided parts are available.
Quite the workhorse, though still long in the tooth. “On the software side,” the piece points out that Apple dropped support for the machine “with macOS Big Sur in 2020.” If you’re still holing onto to one, it’s served you well. But it’s probably time to start eyeing something more recent.
