One of the iPhone indicators that is still unattainable in the Android smartphone market is the period of support for gadgets by the manufacturer.
When a new device gets 2-3 key Android updates, that’s already good. If the manufacturer promises to support the gadget for 5 or more years, marketers immediately mention this feature at every opportunity. They can even write it on the box.
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Let’s recall how long different versions of iPhones were supported and how the Cupertino company releases iOS updates for the current model range.
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Which iPhones Received 3 Versions of iOS
These models received updates for less than three years. It is not surprising, technologies at that time were developing very quickly, hardware was becoming outdated, and new versions of iOS required more and more power.
Looking back, the first generation iPhone struggled to run iOS 3, the latest version, and the iPhone 3G struggled to handle iOS 4.
iPhone first generation – supported for 2 years and 11 months (iPhone OS 1.0 – iPhone OS 3.1.3);
iPhone 3G – 2 years and 7 months (iPhone OS 2.0 – iOS 4.2.1).
Which iPhones Received 4 iOS Updates
Cupertino supported 3 more models a little longer. Technologies continued to develop rapidly, and dozens of features appeared in iOS every year. In such conditions, no one wanted to optimize it for the rapidly aging hardware.
As for the iPhone 5c, the Cupertino company released a more affordable smartphone for the first time, equipping it with last year’s hardware. That’s why it stayed on the list of current ones for a year less than the flagship of its year of release.
iPhone 3GS – 4 years and 2 months (iPhone OS 3.0 – iOS 6.1.6);
iPhone 4 – 4 years and 2 months (iOS 4.0 – iOS 7.1.2);
iPhone 5c – 3 years 11 months (iOS 4.0 – iOS 10.3).
Which iPhones Received 5 iOS Updates
Almost five years of official support is an unattainable figure even now for many Android smartphone manufacturers. Back then, it was a kind of standard for iPhones. It’s cool to buy a gadget in the first year of sales and receive software updates and many new iOS features for almost 5 years.
iPhone 4s – 4 years and 10 months (iOS 5.0 – iOS 9.3.5);
iPhone 5 – 4 years and 11 months (iOS 6.0 – iOS 10.3.4);
iPhone 6/6 Plus – 4 years 11 months (iOS 8 – iOS 12.5.7).
Which iPhones Received 6 iOS Updates
This is even more remarkable when a developer supports older smartphone models for so long.
It is curious that the official support for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, which were presented at the same time, differs by 1 month. It is all about the sales start date. The “eight” was released on the shelves almost immediately after the autumn presentation, and we had to wait a whole month for the anniversary “ten”.
iPhone 5s – 5 years and 11 months (iOS 7.0 – iOS 12.5.7);
iPhone 7/7 Plus – 7 years and 10 months (iOS 10.0 – iOS 15.8.3);
iPhone 8/8 Plus – 6 years 11 months (iOS 11.0 – iOS 16.7.9).
iPhone X – 6 years 10 months (iOS 11.0.1 – iOS 16.7.9).
Which iPhone models received 7 versions of iOS
These are real record holders in terms of support period. The models have received 7 iOS updates, and the iPhone XS/XR are still being updated to the latest versions of the system.
Yes, in the last few years these models have not received all the software features, but they feel quite comfortable and allow you to use them for everyday tasks.
As for the 6s/6s Plus models, this is a record support period among all iPhones at the moment. Although they did not receive an update with the release of iOS 16, the Cupertino company continued to release security patches, iOS 15, the last of which was released on July 29, 2024!
iPhone 6s/6s Plus – 8 years and 10 months (iOS 9.0 – iOS 15.8.3);
iPhone SE 1st generation – 8 years and 3 months (iOS 9.3 – iOS 15.8.3);
iPhone XS и iPhone XR – from 6 years (iOS 12.0 – iOS 18 and later).
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How long will current iPhones receive updates?
– iPhones.ru forecast
Here we certainly do not know Apple’s plans, but we will try to guess based on the available statistics. For the last few years, the power at the time of release of new iPhones is clearly excessive. Apple is unlikely to reduce the support period for them to less than 7 generations of iOS.
iPhone XS и iPhone XR – until autumn 2025.
iPhone 11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max and iPhone SE 2nd generation – until autumn 2026.
iPhone 12/12 mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max – until autumn 2027.
iPhone 13/13 mini/13 Pro/13 Pro Max and iPhone SE 3rd generation – until autumn 2028.
Rulers iPhone 14/15/16most likely, each will live another year longer.
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In this regard, Apple smartphones really have no equal. An ordinary user can take the current generation of smartphones and be sure that the Cupertino company will support it for about 7 years, and maybe even longer. For 2-3 years, gadgets will receive all the top features of the new iOS, and for another 3-4 years they will be updated with restrictions.
Even when smartphones don’t get a fresh system update in the fall, they will continue to receive patches that eliminate critical vulnerabilities. Now that’s truly amazing!
Source: www.iphones.ru
