Apple's 2012 fourth-generation iPad is reportedly now obsolete

iPad 4 (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple's fourth-generation iPad is now considered obsolete by Apple.
The iPad was first announced in 2012 and is now almost ten years old.

Apple's fourth-generation iPad, released in 2012, is now considered obsolete by Apple according to a new report. The tablet, which is almost ten years old, hasn't yet been added to Apple's list of obsolete devices (opens in new tab) on apple.com, however.

It's only a matter of time before it is, though. A new MacRumors report cites an internal memo when saying the 2012 iPad is now obsolete.

Apple classified the fourth-generation iPad as an obsolete product as of November 1, meaning the device is no longer eligible for hardware service worldwide, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. The fourth-generation iPad has yet to be added to Apple's public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, but it should be soon.

The same memo also reportedly lists the Late 2012 Mac mini as being obsolete as of November 1, too. Anyone with these machines should probably look to upgrade at this point — technology has moved on quite a bit since 2012 and you'll benefit hugely from a new machine.

At the time of its release, the fourth-generation iPad saw the arrival of the Lightning port as well as an Apple A6X chip that offered considerable performance boosts over the previous model. That previous model was the ill-fated third-generation iPad, a tablet that lasted less than a year before being replaced.

The fourth-generation iPad also launched alongside the first iPad mini, a model that was refreshed not too long ago.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.