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 went on sale June 29, 2007. Time magazine named it gadget of the year.
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 joins 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 from the one that Steve Jobs first introduced.
Apple did not return a request for comment.