iPhones support up to 6 major iOS updates

The expert statistical analyst firm Statista played a rather interesting game a few weeks ago. She recreated a history of iPhone releases, compared to iOS releases. Everything is laid out in graphical form and shows the number of years during which an iPhone supports new major iOS updates.

The iPhone 5s: 6 major updates

The longevity record is to the credit of the iPhone 5s, which remained compatible with versions 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of iOS. Other models generally support 4 (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5), or 5 (iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE) major system updates.

The iPhone 5c, with 4 major updates supported, therefore seems to be an exception in the history of iOS.

5 years of support on average

With iOS 13, which should logically be released in 2019, Apple is leaving aside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from 2014. Previously, iOS 12 released in 2018 excluded machines released before 2013, except iPhone 5c.

And this trend of the number of years for update support is increasing. For example, iOS 8 supported iPhones from 2011 to 2014, a gap of 3 years. Ditto for iOS 7, compatible with iPhones from 2010 to 2013, i.e. 3 years apart. And this gap narrows for iOS 6 and previous versions.

Apple would therefore tend to support more and more old generation iPhones over the course of its new versions of iOS. And this remains a very important parameter for the user when purchasing a smartphone. Indeed, having a guarantee of being able to update your machine for 5 years means being able to benefit from all the bug and flaw fixes during this time. Not to mention support for many new features introduced with new updates.

Comparatively, many Android machines support system updates for 2-3 years. Obviously, the ecosystem is different with hundreds of different smartphone models compatible with the Google system, and therefore configuration variations to take into account.

Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.