The first macbook pro with retina display is already a vintage or obsolete product

It was on June 11, 2012 when, at the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) that Apple celebrates every year around the same dates, the Cupertino company announced what would be its first MacBook Pro with Retina display. As we are reminded from MacRumors, this feature, along with the thinness of the team, made "the crowd in Moscone West explode with a great round of applause."

In six years, the first MacBook Pro with Retina display becomes obsolete

The new Apple laptop focused on professional use also received numerous accolades from experts, users and the media that carried out different reviews and gave it the best ratings for its optimal combination of functionality and portability. Jose Rossignol reminds us that Marco Arment, a well-known developer, even called it "the best laptop ever made, " with a "design that pleased the crowd."

"Launched in 2012, less than a year after Steve Jobs 'death, I see it as the peak of Jobs' vision for the Mac, " Arment said in an article published last year.

In addition to being the first MacBook Pro with a Retina display, the 2012 model featured a much slimmer design compared to previous models, after Apple removed the integrated Ethernet port, as well as the optical disc drive for CDs and DVDs.. Despite these changes, the laptop's external design remained largely unchanged until 2015.

Though thinner, the 2012-2015 MacBook Pro range had a wide variety of connectivity options, including a pair of Thunderbolt and USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a MagSafe adapter that facilitated a disconnect safely in case of "pull".

If we make a comparison, the MacBook Pro from 2016 onwards only has two or four Thunderbolt 3 ports (depending on the model) that are capable of combining the functions of power, USB, DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA through a single cable. In addition, Apple removed the USB-A and HDMI ports, the SD card reader and the MagSafe connector at once.

According to the latest quarterly sales reports provided by the company, while the disappearance of all those ports on the MacBook Pro has not caused a significant decrease in Mac sales, it is no less true that some customers continue to prefer the more popular models. ancient. In fact, Apple continues to sell a 15 ″ MacBook Pro 2015 configuration at a price of 2, 255 euros in Spain.

However, those who hold onto a 2012 model year, the news is not so good. Just over six years after Apple released the 15-inch "Mid 2012" model of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple has officially classified it as "vintage" or "obsolete. "

This means that at least five years have passed since the model was last manufactured, and consequently Apple's authorized suppliers and Apple itself are no longer required to provide hardware or replacement parts service, with the state's only exceptions. California (USA) and Turkey, in accordance with the laws of these places.

This step taken by the company does not imply in any way that, if you own a 2012 MacBook Pro, you cannot continue to use it with absolute normality, or that you cannot repair it "on your own", as long as the necessary parts exist.

Apple periodically updates its list of old or obsolete products as time goes by, so this is a news that, in a way, was already expected, as will continue to happen with other products of the company in the coming months and years. And in the meantime, the next generation is already “looming” with Cofee Lake.