End-of-life: the most definite word in use
End-of-life comes from hardware, where it normally means a stated date after which the thing does not run. It is the most definite of the retirement words in common use and the rarest in this field, which says something about how mature the practice of retiring models currently is. As of 2026-09-22.
| Borrowed meaning | As used in these notices |
|---|---|
| A stated date after which it stops | One platform states one, per model card |
| Support formally ends | Removal from every region, and failing requests |
| Announced well in advance | Six months or 45 days, depending on the model |
| No exceptions after the date | Not addressed by the platform using the term |
Inclusion rule. Usage as it appears in the lifecycle documentation read for this register. No vendor here publishes a definition. Order. Borrowed meaning first, then the usage found here.
1The hardware meaning survives the move
Unlike deprecated, this term arrives with its expectations intact: a date, a formal end of support, and no ambiguity about whether the thing still works. Where a vendor uses it, a reader is entitled to look for the date.
One platform in this register uses it as the last of three published states, with a preceding period and a described consequence. That is the term working as intended.
2Its rarity is the finding
Across sixteen entries the word appears in one place. Everywhere else a model becomes unavailable by leaving a page, which has no word attached because nobody announces it.
So the absence of the term is a reasonable proxy for the absence of a lifecycle process. A page that never needed the word has probably never managed a retirement in public.
3What to do when a vendor uses it without a date
Treat the gap as worth chasing rather than as reassurance. The term sets an expectation of a date, and a page that uses it without one has raised a question it can answer.
Where the answer does not arrive, the register records no announced date. The blank date question sets out why that is the only defensible phrasing.
A definition rather than a dated entry: no line above is a vendor statement. Where this word turns up in a real notice, the wording and the date are on the three-state reading. Nearby terms: Legacy period, Sunset, Advance notice.
4Production that outlasts a model
Model end dates touch “End-of-life”; SceneMixer's guides describe how its pipeline treats the models it runs:
The default and Pro Qwen tiers follow the presets well; SeedDream Pro for 2K.
SceneMixer, Anime and stylised looks across the tiers — “Which image tier is best for anime sheets?” (read 2026-10-13)
Recommended is a badge on the tier the site suggests for most finished segments. You stay on the default, 480P, until you pick another tier.
SceneMixer, Wan 3.0 · 720P: the recommended tier — “Does Recommended mean 720P is the default?” (read 2026-10-13)