Apple's First MacBook Pro With Retina Display Now Obsolete

Apple now considers the first MacBook Pro to feature a Retina display to be an “obsolete” device, indicating what kind of support users will get for it moving forward.

In a support document, Apple has added the mid-2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display to the dreaded obsolete products list. This means the company has stopped selling the device seven years ago and has discontinued all hardware services for it, regardless of the issue.

This also means that those who are still using the mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro, no matter how good it is, cannot expect to get Apple to provide service for it, even if the problem is as simple as getting the battery or the MagSafe charger replaced.

MacRumors noted that those who continue to use the device can get some help from iFixit's repair guides when certain problems occur. They can also contact independent repair shops for help, but these shops will not be able to assure them of genuine parts. Apple has stated that “service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products.”

Despite this, many fans still consider the mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro as one of the best MacBook Pro models as it has a great design and contains a wide assortment of ports that users can take advantage of.

One particular user, commenting on the MacRumors forums, noted that the device uses MagSafe for charging, has the Glowing Apple design and features a slew of ports, including an SD card slot, an HDMI port and an Optical Audio Out. The device also featured a reliable keyboard (it was released before the problematic butterfly keyboard) and has removable (and thus upgradeable) storage.

The mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro didn't have an ethernet port and optical drive for CDs and DVDs. The removal of such features, however, allowed Apple to create a chassis that's noticeably slimmer than that of MacBooks before it.

Apple's Phil Schiller, speaking about the device during its launch, claimed that there has “never been a notebook this gorgeous,” MacRumors noted. The marketing chief also boasted about its Retina display, saying the device is a “breakthrough in display engineering.”