Apple Ending Support for Thunderbolt Display and 1st Gen iPad Air

[T0@st]

Apple hardware hoarders do exist - a friend told me that he'd only just replaced a 2013 vintage 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro this month - these folks continue to enjoy repairs or miscellaneous services at Apple Stores and authorized service providers on some products. Unfortunately there is potential bad news for preservationist owners of the original Thunderbolt Display and the first generation iPad Air tablet - a leaked internal memo suggests that Apple has decided to add these two antiques to their end-of-life (EOL) device list, according to MacRumors. Apple's Thunderbolt Display was released back in the summer of 2011, the company boasted that its fancy 27-inch 1440p monitor was the world's first display with Thunderbolt I/O technology (at the time), the asking price was $999. Alongside its requisite Thunderbolt I/O port (designed to connect to compatible Mac Notebooks), the monitor had a number of other spiffy features including an in-built 720p webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port and a Gigabit Ethernet port.

Apple stopped making the Thunderbolt Display in 2016, and customers had to wait another six years for a successor to turn up - the Studio Display launched alongside the Mac Studio in March 2022. The original (1st gen) iPad Air was released on November 1 in 2013. It was the first entry in the iPad tablet family to feature a thinner design - its standard (non-Air) predecessors were a bit chunkier in comparison. It was discontinued in March of 2016, and Apple has so far released five generations of iPad Air products - last year's model debuted with the ARM-based M1 chipset.



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[DrCR]

How is dropping support for a monitor a thing? Is OSX MacOS no longer supporting TB-connected displays; or are we just talking about repair support?

 

[HeadRusch1]

Think its repair support, doesn't mean 3rd party locations won't slap a new battery or have parts available however................

 

[Chaitanya]

How is dropping support for a monitor a thing? Is OSX MacOS no longer supporting TB-connected displays; or are we just talking about repair support?

Its just Apple wont repair those devices or will go out of way cockblocking 3rd parties from gettig needed spares for repairs i.e. if those products die they are going to endup in landfill.

 

[Vya Domus]

Think its repair support

It's not as if they were exactly famous for their amazing repair services.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

It's not as if they were exactly famous for their amazing repair services.

Actually they are. For most people booking an online appointment and walking in to drop off the item at said time is amazing. As long as you are under apple care it gets fixed. It's either fixed quick while you wait or they send it out for you and it comes to be picked up really quick. It's vastly better for most people than dealing with other companies. People here may bash them, but back on planet earth apple is the gold standard for support on consumer products.

 

[Vya Domus]

Actually they are. For most people booking an online appointment and walking in to drop off the item at said time is amazing. As long as you are under apple care it gets fixed. It's either fixed quick while you wait or they send it out for you and it comes to be picked up really quick. It's vastly better for most people than dealing with other companies. People here may bash them, but back on planet earth apple is the gold standard for support on consumer products.

They aren't repairing shit.

They more often than not either replace the whole thing if it's still under warranty or if you have apple care and if not they wont do anything.

 

[Cheeseball]

They aren't repairing shit.

They more often than not either replace the whole thing if it's still under warranty or if you have apple care and if not they wont do anything.

No, some Apple Stores (brick-and-mortar) do battery and screen repairs in-store, warranty or not, at least for the iPhones and iPads. Not sure about the MacBooks and desktop Macs.

 

[LabRat 891]

Normally, I'd be all for using news like this as an oppurtunity to Apple-bash. However, It's undeserved here.

10+ years of support on non-industrial components is pretty fantastic. TBQH, I'm doubtful there's a single 1st Gen iPad Air on all-original parts, and there can't be many Thunderbolt displays that aren't "on their way out".
(I've owned a couple LCDs for 6-8 years, they yellow and seemingly lose fidelity.)

 

[DrCR]

(I've owned a couple LCDs for 6-8 years, they yellow and seemingly lose fidelity.)

Apple Cinema Displays?

I’m actually using an ancient DVI-D Apple Cinema Display as a quaternary display that was bound for the landfill otherwise. It’s a bit wonky but still provides utility for that purpose.

My LG SPVA lasted me 15 years before I had to finally get rid of it. Image quality was still excellent, but back outs eventually became incessant.

 

[LabRat 891]

Apple Cinema Displays?

I’m actually using an ancient DVI-D Apple Cinema Display as a quaternary display that was bound for the landfill otherwise. It’s a bit wonky but still provides utility for that purpose.

My LG SPVA lasted me 15 years before I had to finally get rid of it. Image quality was still excellent, but back outs eventually became incessant.

The 3 displays that I watched 'age' were:
A BenQ 24" 'pro' display, a 21.5" Viewsonic, and a 17" Sceptre.
The viewsonic is the only of the three that still 'functions' today. However, the Viewsonic has extreme yellowing, dimness, and lack of clarity.

I've also been given 2 old LCDs, and they look a lot like the Viewsonic.

Not all LCDs age the same, clearly:
my budget Westinghouse HDTV has held up without notable degregation for 8+ years (other than replacing the power brick).

 

[DrCR]

The 3 displays that I watched 'age' were:
A BenQ 24" 'pro' display, a 21.5" Viewsonic, and a 17" Sceptre.
The viewsonic is the only of the three that still 'functions' today. However, the Viewsonic has extreme yellowing, dimness, and lack of clarity.

I've also been given 2 old LCDs, and they look a lot like the Viewsonic.

Not all LCDs age the same, clearly:
my budget Westinghouse HDTV has held up without notable degregation for 8+ years (other than replacing the power brick).

Interesting. Do you know the panel tech of those two and the Viewsonic? I would not expect longevity from cheap TNs, but now I’m wondering if my positive longevity experience is based on my bias to quality VA panels, and if IPS panels may age as you describe. (My ~15? or so y/o Apple display is almost surely IPS as is yellowed like you describe.)