Apple Officially Declares Mid-2011 Mac mini Obsolete

An internal memo released to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized service providers this week revealed that all of the company’s mid-2011 Mac mini models have been added to its running list of ‘vintage and obsolete products’.

According to a copy of the memo obtained by MacRumors, all variants of the mid-2011 Mac mini — Apple’s first to boast Thunderbolt connectivity while ditching the optical CD/DVD drive — were granted the designation effective November 30, 2017.

What Does Vintage and Obsolete Mean?

Apple keeps a running list of vintage and obsolete products — those given a classification indicating that, unless pursuant with local law, Apple Stores and authorized service providers will no longer offer repair service for. In this case, the mid-2011 Mac mini will be joining a number of nostalgic Apple products, including the iBook, eMac and more, which are at least five years post-production.

With exception, due to local laws in California and Turkey, customers may still receive service on their mid-2011 Mac mini for up to an additional two years.

As we’ve noted before, it’s been over three years now since Apple last updated its Mac mini computer in October, 2014. And while the model is still considered “current,”as it remains available for purchase in store and online, it’s worth pointing out that the machine is powered by some fairly outdated internals, including a dual core build of Intel’s five generations old ‘Haswell’ CPU.

It’s certainly clear that Mac mini is due for a refresh — and while both Tim Cook and Phil Schiller have respectively lauded and reaffirmed their commitment to the small but mighty Mac mini — there are currently no rumors or analysis suggesting that we could see one anytime soon.

That’s not to say we’ll never see one, of course; but only that (at least for the time being) all we really have to keep our interest piqued are these futuristic but nevertheless drool-worthy Mac mini concept designs.