Bye-Phone.
Six years after the iPhone went on sale, Apple is putting the first-generation device out to pasture.
Apple will label the original iPhone an “obsolete” product in much of the world and “vintage” in the US, according to Apple fan blog 9to5Mac.
The vintage classification means that only people who purchased the original iPhone in California will have access to Apple repair services.
California laws are responsible for the special treatment, but within two years the first iPhone will be obsolete in all of the US.
The first iPhone is credited with revolutionizing mobile computing, sparking a media frenzy and generating long lines when it hit the market in June 2007. Time magazine named it gadget of the year in 2007.
There were about 6.1 million original iPhones sold during its lifetime. Apple sold 37.5 million iPhones just last quarter.
Apple changes the designation of products five years after they are discontinued, which fits the original iPhone. It was discontinued in July 2008, when its successor, the iPhone 3G, launched.
Apple keeps a list of “vintage and obsolete products” on its website. In the US, Apple products are called “vintage” between five and seven years after being discontinued, and are obsolete after seven years.
The iPhone officially join the ranks of vintage and obsolete products on June 11, according to 9to5Mac.
The original iPhone stopped receiving software support from the company years ago and hasn’t received iOS updates since the third-generation of the mobile operating system.
Even in 2009, with the release of iOS 3, the original iPhone lost the ability to support all the latest features delivered by Apple’s updates.
Apple is now developing seventh-generation mobile software, which is expected to launch in June. The new software, iOS 7, is expected to bring a different look than the one that Steve Jobs first introduced.
From the original iPhone to the iPhone 5, the look of software has been fairly consistent, and Apple has traditionally designed icons, app buttons and features that mimic their real-world inspirations.
For instance, Apple’s virtual calendars still have faux leather borders; the virtual book shelve still look like stacks in a library.
The next-generation software, which is now under the command of Apple’s design guru Jony Ive, is likely to do away with those “skeuomorphic” elements in favor of a flatter, more modern design.
Apple did not return a request for comment.
gsloane@nypost.com