The end of an era? Apple declares last MacBook with optical drive “obsolete”

Apple’s last MacBook with a disc drive has officially joined its long list of obsolete products. Launched in mid-2012, this model features a 13.3-inch display, a choice of 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 or 2.9GHz Core i7, as well as up to 8GB of RAM and up to 1TB of capacity.

The discontinuation of laptops equipped with optical disc drives marks the end of an era, as they have become out of touch with current market needs. Most laptops no longer include this feature, with a few exceptions.

It’s worth noting that Apple was one of the first companies to phase out disk drives, and since the MacBook Pro in mid-2012, future models haven’t been equipped with the same feature.

For those unfamiliar, Apple discontinued sales of this specific model in October 2016, which had been an entry-level option for a while. In fact, no updates have been released for this model in several years, so it’s no longer supported since the release of macOS Big Sur.

What are obsolete and old-fashioned products?

Once a product exceeds its life cycle, Apple divides products into two categories: obsolete or High quality.

A product is considered obsolete when “Apple stopped distributing it for sale more than 5 years ago and less than 7 years ago” and a product is considered obsolete when “Apple stopped distributing it for sale more than 7 years ago” Obsolete, therefore, “Apple has discontinued service on all products with obsolete hardware” and service providers cannot order parts for repairs.