Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
- Apple will no longer support the iPhone 5 with repairs, as it is now considered "vintage."
- There are now few options for people who prefer smartphones with displays under 5 inches.
Apple added the iPhone 5, which came out in 2013, to its list of "vintage and obsolete products" for the US.
This means that Apple will no longer repair the hardware for the iPhone 5. iPhone 5 owners with broken devices, whether it's accidental or simply from old age, will have to buy a newer model (I suppose they could even get a second-hand iPhone 5 in working condition, but I wouldn't recommend that route now that Apple won't repair the phone).
Apple describes vintage products as "those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago." As for "obsolete," that's a classification for devices that were discontinued seven years ago. The iPhone 5 isn't quite obsolete yet.
Business Insider/Steve Kovach The iPhone SE was the last phone that Apple sold with a 4-inch display. The company stopped selling the iPhone SE in September.
Apple doesn't sell the iPhone 5's successors with 4-inch displays, including the iPhone 5C, or iPhone 5S, or the iPhone SE. If an iPhone 5 owner wants to upgrade to one of those phones, they'll likely need to buy it second-hand.
The iPhone 7, which Apple still sells, is going for a great value of $450 from Apple these days. Still, it's not the small phone that iPhone 5 owners are used to. In fact, Apple no longer offers any iPhones with displays under 4.7 inches.
Apple users who prefer smaller displays may even be forced to look at Android devices, but even those are hard to find with displays under 5 inches. It looks like the days of smaller smartphones are numbered.