Apple marks 3rd-gen iPad Mini as obsolete product

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple has officially marked the third-generation iPad mini as an obsolete product, meaning it will no longer be eligible for repairs as service providers cannot order parts for the device.

“Products are considered obsolete when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 7 years ago,” according to Apple’s support page.

“Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, with the sole exception of Mac laptops that are eligible for an additional battery-only repair period. Service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products,” it added.

The third-generation iPad mini was a popular iPad that launched in 2014 alongside the second-generation iPad Air.

It included the A7 chip and a Touch ID home button.

Meanwhile, the tech giant is reportedly working on a new version of the iPad mini which is expected to be launched by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared the information on the micro-blogging platform Twitter and said that the new iPad mini’s main selling point would be its processor.

Moreover, he said that the iPhone maker will not replace the iPad mini with a folding iPad in 2025.

This is because “the price of the folding iPad should be significantly higher than that of the iPad mini, so such a replacement is unreasonable”.