The turning of the year marked a quiet farewell for several Apple products, ushered into the company’s “Vintage” category – a digital archive of technologies past. Among them, a significant piece of history: the last MacBook Air powered by an Intel processor.
Last month’s update saw the 2020 13-inch Retina MacBook Air, alongside the iPhone 8 Plus (128GB), the iPhone 11 Pro, the cellular iPad Air 3, and the Apple Watch Series 5, all officially designated as vintage. The 2020 MacBook Air, boasting a 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and a redesigned keyboard, represented a final stand before Apple’s revolutionary shift to its own silicon.
The arrival of the M1 Air was a watershed moment, lauded by critics and embraced by users, igniting the Apple silicon revolution. Yet, the transition wasn’t instantaneous; Intel-based Macs didn’t vanish overnight. This recent move signals Apple’s deliberate closing of a chapter in its technological evolution.
This isn’t merely a symbolic categorization. The “Vintage” label carries tangible consequences for owners. Products falling into this bracket – those discontinued between five and seven years ago – face limitations in servicing, repairs, and parts availability. It’s a step closer to obsolescence, potentially prompting owners of the final Intel Air to consider a modern upgrade.
The shrinking pool of supported Intel Macs now includes the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) and the 13-inch MacBook Pro models (2020). Similarly, the 2019 and 2020 iMacs, powered by Intel’s Coffee Lake and Comet Lake chips, remain eligible for repairs.
Remarkably, the Intel-based Mac Pro, only discontinued in June 2023, won’t reach “Vintage” status for another two and a half years. This extended support window underscores the longevity Apple sometimes affords its professional-grade hardware, even as it charts a course firmly into the future of Apple silicon.
