Whether you’re thinking about buying an older iPhone or wondering if your current phone is worth upgrading, an important factor to consider is how long Apple will offer support for that phone.
There are two ways Apple supports iPhones. One is the software, which ensures that any bugs and security flaws are fixed. The other is hardware: Providing the parts and labor to fix a phone problem (for a price, of course).
It is for this reason that we discourage people from buying particularly old iPhone phones. The risk that a failure will occur or that you may be exposed to security risks is too high.
The good news is that Apple has at least supported iPhones for a long time. Software support lasts for about a decade, while hardware support can be available on phones that are five to seven years old
Read on to find out which iPhones are supported with the latest operating systems and which ones are supported for service and repairs.
We also have a guide for how to fix a broken iphone AND how much Apple product repairs cost and how long they take.
How long does Apple support iOS?
Statista (a provider of market and consumer data) publishes a graph showing how long Apple supports older iPhones. The company updated this chart in September 2022, adding the iPhone 14 series and iOS 16.
The graph shows how long the software on iPhones has been supported by Apple, and the good news is that support for operating systems on older iPhones, including security and usability updates, continued for years after these phones were released. sold, especially among the newer iPhones.
For the first few phones, support wasn’t anything to write home about, but starting with the iPhone 4s, which arrived in 2011, Apple’s support has lasted for years (and still continues).
Statita’s chart shows every iPhone and every iOSThe first iphonelaunched in 2007, it was capable of running iPhone OS 3, which Apple supported until 2010.
THE 3G iPhoneslaunched in 2008, it was capable of running iOS 4.0, itself supported until 2011.
Support duration increased with the launch of the iPhone 4s in 2011. That phone was capable of running operating systems up to iOS 9. Apple still supported iOS 9 in 2019: it released a GPS-related update on July 22, 2019.
THE iPhone 5c it runs iOS 10, which also received the GPS-related update in July 2019.
THE iPhone 5s AND iPhone 6 both are running iOS 12 which was last updated by Apple in July 2020, specifically the update was for devices that don’t support iOS 13, for which the older phone is the iPhone 6s.
When iOS 14 launched, it ran on every iPhone since iPhone 6s onwards, just like iOS 13. This meant that the iPhone 6s, which launched in 2015 with iOS 9 in 2015, was still compatible when iOS 14 was released five years later.
As for iOS 15, which arrived in September 2021, all iPhones from iPhone 6s onwards will be supported, just like with iOS 14.
iOS 16which arrived in September 2022, works on all iPhones from the iPhone 8 onwards, but keep in mind that not all features are available on older phones.
Apple supports the latest three versions of its operating systems for bugs and security updates, so if your iPhone is running iOS 13 you should be good to go. This means that Apple supports iPhone 6s or newer when it comes to software updates. Indeed, in January 2023 Apple has updated iOS 12 with a security updatewhich will cover iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s.
However, we recommend updating your iPhone if you have an iPhone 6 or older and are concerned about security.
We have a list of each version of iOS where you can see the latest versions and how long Apple supports iOS.
When does Apple stop supporting iPhones?
In terms of software it’s not bad, but if you have a fault with your iPhone, will Apple be able to supply the parts to fix it?
Apple will support iPhones (and every device it makes) for seven years after it last sold that particular model. So, as long as your iPhone was still being sold by Apple up until seven years ago, the company will still fix it—in other words: they’ll help you fix it (for a price).
This is where Apple’s list of obsolete and vintage products comes into play.
Apple states on its website Here that “Owners of iPhone, iPad, iPod or Mac products may obtain service and parts from Apple or Apple’s service providers for five years after the product is no longer sold.”
The following iPhones are considered Obsoletewhich means that sales were stopped more than seven years ago and Apple has now stopped all hardware maintenance.
iPhone iPhone 3G iPhone 3GS iPhone 4 (some models are now obsolete) iPhone 4s iPhone 5c (discontinued September 2013, obsolete 2021)
And these iPhones are listed as Vintage, which means they haven’t been sold for more than five years (but less than seven years). Apple will continue to provide support for these products.
iPhone 4 8GB (discontinued 2013, but sold in India until February 2014, probably obsolete very soon) iPhone 5 (discontinued September 2013, probably obsolete soon) iPhone 5S (discontinued 2016, vintage 2021) iPhone 6 ( discontinued in 2016, vintage in 2021) iPhone 6 Plus (discontinued in 2016, vintage 2021) iPhone 6s (Discontinued 2016, Vintage 2022) iPhone 6s Plus (Discontinued 2018, Vintage 2022)
It appears that soon Apple will only service iPhones older than the iPhone 6s if it has the required parts. All iPhones that followed those phones should be supported by Apple.
You may also be interested in learning how long does apple support macs.
Is your iPhone slipping into darkness? Find a great deal on a new iPhone here.
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