White plastic MacBook declared 'obsolete' by Apple, killing it off entirely

The iPhone 3G and other products have also joined Apple's list, meaning that none of them will be able to be serviced by the company

Andrew Griffin
Tuesday 02 May 2017 09:53 BST
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Steve Jobs introduces the MacBook Air, which replaced the white plastic computer
Steve Jobs introduces the MacBook Air, which replaced the white plastic computer

Apple has declared the white plastic MacBook, perhaps the most loved of its laptops, dead.

The third and last version of the unibody polycarbonate computer has been declared "obsolete" by the company. That means that it won't be eligible for any hardware repairs and so is effectively dead to Apple.

It was added to the list along with every version of the iPhone 3G and MacBook Pros that were released in 2009.

(Apple

The White MacBook emerged in 2010, the newest version of a laptop that was first introduced in 2006. At that time, it was in keeping with the glossy white look that was all over Apple's line, most prominently on the earlier versions of its iPods.

But Apple would go on to introduce a cleaner, brushed aluminium look that lives on in some form to this day. That came to the fore with the iPhone but was introduced across Apple's products, including on the MacBook Air – which was introduced in 2008 and was blamed for the death of the cheaper, plastic computer.

The white – and sometimes black – plastic laptop was then discontinued in mid-2011. It's still possible to buy versions of them online, though they are unable to download the most recent versions of Apple's operating system.

The laptop is officially classified as "vintage" in the US and Turkey, where it is required to keep supporting it, and obsolete everywhere else in the world. That means that repairs will continue in California and Turkey but will come to an end in Apple's retail stores and across the rest of the world, which follows Apple's US product list.

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