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Apple confirms timeframe of software support for iPhones

Written By Duane Villanueva
Published • June 8th, 2024
NewsSmartphonesSoftware
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Apple just confirmed the timeframe for how long they’ll provide software support for their iPhones. Surprisingly, it’s less than what their current competitors offer.

Historically, Apple has not provided minimum guarantees for software updates and security patches. However, the company has bested other competitors when it came to general quality updates.

Moving on, the UK’s Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) regulation has been in effect since April 29th this year. This ruling forces companies that manufacture, import, or distribute internet-capable products in the UK to comply with security requirements.

This regulation aims to improve the security of consumer products that can connect to the internet, specifically IoT devices. In turn, companies must provide statements of compliance that outline the support period for their upcoming security updates.

Since iPhones fall under this jurisdiction, Apple needed to cooperate with the PSTI. With that, the company recently published their compliance statement for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The statement reveals that the device’s support period is a minimum of five (5) years from the first supply date.

According to the PSTI’s regulation, the “defined support period” is the “minimum length of time, expressed as a period of time with an end date, for which security updates will be provided.”

A “security update”, meanwhile, is recognized by the PSTI as a “software update that protects or enhances the security of a product, including a software update that addresses security issues which have been discovered by or reported to the manufacturer.”

Long story short, Apple is affirming to the UK government in issuing security updates for a minimum of five years. This means that iPhone 15 series users are guaranteed to receive security updates until September 22, 2028.

While their competitors like Samsung and Google guarantee their users seven years of security and software updates for their flagship devices, it begs the question—is Apple no longer offering their users the best security update policies?

In Apple’s defense, the company has provided more than five years of security updates for various iPhone iterations. While Samsung and Google are currently ahead of Apple in this segment, it doesn’t mean that iPhone users can’t keep up.

It just means that we need a little more hope that Apple doesn’t cut off support after their initial guarantee. But what do you guys think? Is Apple going to slack in providing software support for iPhones? Let us know what you think!