Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Archived Post

Obsolete: The last polycarbonate MacBook

Yesterday, Apple placed a few MacBook and MacBook Pro models on the growing list of “obsolete” and “vintage” hardware. Among the sad, discarded few was the 2010 13-inch MacBook, which was the last MacBook to use a polycarbonate outer shell instead of Jony Ive’s beloved “aluminium”. 

The 13-inch MacBook had two distinctions. When it was introduced in 2006 to replace the iBook, it was the last of Apple’s laptops to move from PowerPC processors to Intel processors. Secondly, it was made from polycarbonate in two available colors — white and black. The last 13-inch MacBook was sold at retailers in 2011, while educational institutions could purchase them until 2012. 

The models declared obsolete (or vintage in California and Turkey) are:

  • MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010) 
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009) 
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53GHz, Mid 2009) 
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)

Vintage devices are excluded from continuing support except in areas where repair laws force Apple to keep supporting them — the aforementioned country of Turkey, and California, the state with an overbearing tendency to regulate everything.

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Steve is the founder and former publisher of Apple World Today and has authored a number of books about Apple products. He's an avid photographer, an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and a really bad guitarist. Steve and his wife Barb love to travel everywhere!